A morning on the Rideau (part 2)
November 25th, 2010
The Hooded Merganser is an odd-looking duck at the best of times. So when a wind ruffled this guy's crest feathers, he looked beyond odd--like something had come and taken a bite out of him!
Here he is looking a little more dignified:
"Hoodies" are common spring and fall migrants in Ottawa. They don't usually winter here. Right now you can find them just south of Riverain Park, often swimming right along shore (but you have to peek through the reeds to see them.) Oddly, Hooded Mergansers are known to hybridize, in the wild, with both species of goldeneye. That's not merely a cross-species hybrid, but cross-genus!
A Common Merganser trio:
And one rather disheveled looking Scaup--probably a molting juvenile. This is another late migrant.
November 25th, 2010
The Hooded Merganser is an odd-looking duck at the best of times. So when a wind ruffled this guy's crest feathers, he looked beyond odd--like something had come and taken a bite out of him!
Here he is looking a little more dignified:
"Hoodies" are common spring and fall migrants in Ottawa. They don't usually winter here. Right now you can find them just south of Riverain Park, often swimming right along shore (but you have to peek through the reeds to see them.) Oddly, Hooded Mergansers are known to hybridize, in the wild, with both species of goldeneye. That's not merely a cross-species hybrid, but cross-genus!
A Common Merganser trio:
And one rather disheveled looking Scaup--probably a molting juvenile. This is another late migrant.
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