Common and Hooded Mergansers

by | posted in: British Columbia, Out and About | 23

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Ducks are usually so obliging when you want to take photographs unless they decide to dive under the water as you click the shutter button or they turn their head just when you think you have the perfect shot or they are a long way out of range or the lighting isn’t quite right and the photos come out dark.  Well okay, maybe they aren’t so obliging after all.

upside down ducks at Albert Head Lagoon, BC taken by craftygardener.ca

I’m lucky to have a few good photos of the common merganser and the hooded merganser.  Some are from out trips to British Columbia and some are from local spots like the Wellington Beach or down by the Bay of Quinte.

The common merganser sits low in the water and frequently dives for small fish.  These are photos of the female common merganser from different locations.  They are also sometimes called goosanders and are diving ducks.

the common merganser by craftygardener.ca

The male hooded merganser is a lovely black and white headed duck with a white tummy and chestnut coloured wings. The big white spot at the back of its head will opens and closes up at certain times.  Hooded mergansers are the smallest of the mergansers.

the hooded merganser taken by craftygardener.ca

Here are some more photos of this diving duck taken from different angles.  Thank goodness for digital as all those photos that just weren’t good enough could easily be deleted.

the hooded merganser taken by craftygardener.ca

One of these days I’m going to get several of my favourite duck photos printed and create a display of them.

Until then I’m sharing with Wild Bird Wednesday, I’d Rather B Birdin’ and Saturday’s Critters.

ABC Wednesday is up to M for mergansers.

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throughmylenslg

BC birds  / Down by the Bay

23 Responses

  1. Margie
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    I didn’t know that ducks liked to dive!

  3. Myrtle
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    Beautiful shots of the ducks in the water, the water really draws your attention in every shot, great photography Linda.

  4. Margy
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    We have common mergansers here at our cabin, but I haven’t seen any yet. They are so cute when the female carries her young on her back with the remaining brood trailing behind. – Margy

  6. ABC Wednesday
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    They are beautiful…. love them

    Have a splendid, ♥-warming ABC-Wednes-day / -week
    ♫ M e l ☺ d y ♪ (ABC-W-team)

  7. Betty Crow
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    WOW! on the hooded merganser shot! All birds like to show me their backside and ducks like to dive as I click the shutter. It’s my lot in life. 🙂 Beautiful series!

  8. Elaine
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    Wonderful post and photos , I do like your header to so fresh and spring looking. I love birds they are all have such characters and are funny to watch . Thanks for sharing , Have a good day !

  12. Linda
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    Oh I love when they migrate past the cottage…I always get photos!
    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

  13. Stewart Monckton
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    Great looking birds – we don’t have from this group of birds in Australia – so it nice to see a few here.

    Cheers – Stewart M – Melbourne

  14. Eileen
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    Hello, I have always loved the Mergansers. Both the Hooded Merganser and Common Merganser are pretty. Great shots of the ducks. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. I also appreciate your comment and visit. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!

  15. islandrambles
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    Wow some really great photos here Linda, you have a new lens or new camera….these are really good close ups! I love these little ducks!

    • Linda aka Crafty Gardener
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      The hooded merganser photos were taken at the Victoria Harbour with. Nikon P900 zoom lens. It was just swimming around the boats on its own. Another day we saw a Pacific loon there. I have two Nikon cameras a P510 and a P900, with zoom up to 83x. I also have a Canon SLR but tend to use the Nikon more as I don’t have to keep changing lenses.

  18. Angie
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    The shot before the collage is my favorite – so close, and the way you captured the water rippling around the duck – spectacular!

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