Yesterday was cloudy all day, but I went out anyway to the Edwin B Fortsythe National Wildlife Refuge near Brigantine, NJ to see what I could photograph. It turned out to be not much. Most of the photos turned out mediocre at best and had to be discarded. However, it was high tide and at two of the locations where sea water came into to the marshes I found Hooded Mergansers and Buffleheads merrily diving for food.
Buffleheads are small ducks, even smaller than Hooded Mergansers. They kept their distances, and I could only get one good shot at a pair.
Buffleheads, female on left, male on right. The male had a glossy green forehead, which would have been more colorful in better lighting.
The Hooded Mergansers were bolder, coming within 30 ft, seemingly undisturbed by the guy with a white car and a black camera.
Male Hooded Merganser. He had been diving so his crest or hood was tamped down.
There were several female Hooded Mergansers who looked quite coquettish even as they dived and resurfaced constantly.
Female Hooded Mergansers.
Female Hooded Merganser.
wow- I love the hooded mergansers…the female ones are so pretty!
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Great pictures! I wish my hair stayed that fluffy even in rain and wind 🙂
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Great photos despite the bad light! It seems to me that ducks, all birds for that matter, will allow me to get closer to them on dark and dreary days than they will when the light is good. The trade off is is the bad light.
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You probably have experienced many similar situations, more so than I. When it is cloudy and rain threatens, I usually stay home. However, this time I had to work for several days and couldn’t wait to get out. Thank you Jerry!
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