There were two male Hooded Merganser at the refuge cruising around on a patch of water amid the ice, looking for food. They swam, dove, and came up for air. These small ducks are specific to North America, with the males very noticeable because of their black and white hood.
In the water, Hooded Mergansers hunt for food by sight. They have an extra eyelid, a nictitating (blinking) membrane, that they can deploy to protect their eyes, somewhat like humans who use goggles when swimming underwater. You can see it in the following shot.
They can also adjust the refractive property of their eyes to improve their vision under water.
I’m familiar with Hooded mergansers, which are beautiful enough, but you took it to another level here. The nictating membrane is very cool to see, and I love that wet head! Fantastic.
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Thank you Lynn! These ducks are one of the winter highlights.
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Beautiful ducks and you got some fine photos of them!
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Thank you John! I do like taking photos of these ducks.
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Superb captures of one of our more beautiful waterfowl species.
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Thank you Nick!
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Great photos, do most diving birds have this extra eye-lid?
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Thank you Emma! Nictitating eyelids are common among many birds and animals. Humans may be on the few species that don’t have them.
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Wonderful captures!
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Thank you Robert!
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These are such precious little ducks. Great captures.
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Thank you Inese!
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Very cool ducks nicely captured.
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Thank you Tim!
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You’re welcome Hien. Hope your weekend is going well and it is not too cold to get out and photograph.
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They are so different than the ducks around here. The markings are so sharp and distinctive.
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You are right about that. The male ones are very easy to spot from even far away.
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Quite the show-offs, aren’t they!?
Beautiful shots, Hien.
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Thank you Dries!
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Fabulous images of a beautiful duck, Hien! I saw HMs twice yesterday and missed all the shots. So I enjoyed yours very very much! 🙂
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Were they too far away from you? In ebrid.org someone reported weeing two of them today at Blackwater.
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Yes, too far in distance! I saw 2 there three days ago at Blackwater, maybe the same pair? 🙂
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Oh, my goodness! Couldn’t stop smiling as I looked at these beautiful ducks. I think I would be so intrigued by all the birds at this refuge that I would forget to click. 😊
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There are always some birds at the refuge, any time of the year. You would enjoy it!
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I am sure I would!
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Exceptional shots, Hien! We don’t have these ducks here so it was quite a treat for me to come here to see these wonderful Hooded Mergansers. Thank you so much!
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Thank you Amy! According to allaboutbirds.org Hooded Mergansers live year round in New York state and even in Ontario and Quebec.
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Well I will be certain to be on the lookout for this duck. I’ve yet to see one here locally. Thank you for the information, Hien.
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Are their bills really narrow or is that the angle of the shot? They are beautiful.
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Their bills are indeed narrow.
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