Sunday, March 21, 2010

A Hooded Merganser Encounter

After photographing the Lesser Scaup posted yesterday I noticed a pair of ducks quite some distance away. Looking through the binoculars I could determine that one had a white patch on its head. At that point I knew they were either Buffleheads or Hooded Mergansers and in either case it would be worthwhile to try to get a better look.



Maneuvering the boat to get a good lighting angle I approached them. As I drew nearer I was able to determine that they were a pair of Hooded Mergansers.


Instead of flushing while I was still a distance away this pair decided to try to swim across the lake with me in pursuit, following just a tad faster than they were swimming.




After following and photographing them for some distance they looked at each other as if to say, what do we do now?


Evidently the look they gave each other was the “let’s get out-a-here” look for immediately they sprang into the air, giving me the shot I was looking for.



Flying to the western shoreline the Mergansers settled back on the water while I turned the boat away to look for other photo opportunities.

8 comments:

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

Awesome pictures.

Elaine said...

That shot was well worth waiting for. Beautiful!

Chris said...

Hi Coy,
These are gorgeous shots, the birds and the water are so beautiful and the light is just perfect... Well done!

Anonymous said...

This last shot is stunning. I'd say you got it perfectly.

Montanagirl said...

Wonderful! That last shot is just terrific.

Brad Myers said...

Coy, great photos and encounter. I have enjoyed catching back up on your blog. Like I said to Willard I like the new format, the larger photos look great.

I missed the migration at Middle Creek this year but it was worth it. Just got back from photographing birds in Florida and even ran into Klaus and Ken Conger at different places there.

Take care and keep shooting Brad.

Meggie said...

Fabulous photos, Coy! Gorgeous!!

Leedra said...

Love the last photo. Looks like while I haven't been blogging (and not really getting geared up again, just visiting alittle) you have been seeing alot of different ducks.