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Tag Archives: red-breasted merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

05 Saturday Mar 2022

Posted by neihtn2012 in barnegat, EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 27 Comments

Tags

barnegat lighthouse state park, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, postaday, red-breasted merganser

Red-breasted Mergansers are fairly common in the winter along the coast of New Jersey. In the past two weeks, I took their photos at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge and also near the Barnegat Lighthouse on two different occasions.

Female Red-breasted Merganser looking for fish.
Female Red-breasted Merganser and no fish.
Female Red-breasted Merganser with fish.

According to All About Birds, a Red-breasted Merganser has to eat 15 to 20 fish per day, requiring it to dive under water for 250 to 300 times a day! The Red-breasted Merganser population in North America is stable and has been estimated at 500,000 in 2017.

Female Red-breasted Merganser.
Two males and one female Red-breasted Mergansers.
Female Red-breasted Merganser.

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Red-Breasted Mergansers

23 Saturday Mar 2019

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 34 Comments

Tags

photography, postaday, red-breasted merganser

Red-Breasted Mergansers are high energy birds that migrate in the winter to our coastline from Canada. Whenever I see them, they are always busy diving and looking for food. They have to eat 15 to 20 fish a day and must spend 4 to 5 hours every day diving for fish!

I usually wait until they surface to photograph them, and as a result they have a constant wet look with water beading all over their faces and bodies. Both male and female birds have the spiky and shaggy head prized by some young people today.

Red-breasted Mergansers, female behind male.

Male Red-breasted Merganser.

Female Red-breasted Merganser.

Female Red-breasted Merganser.

Male Red-breasted Merganser.

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Red-breasted Merganser

20 Saturday Jan 2018

Posted by neihtn2012 in barnegat, Photography

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

barnegat inlet, photography, postaday, red-breasted merganser

Red-breasted Merganser spend their winter on both coasts of North America. There were quite a few of them a week ago swimming and diving in the Barnegat inlet. The male duck can be very striking, and even funny looking with its Mohawk head feathers.

Male Red-breasted Merganser.

Male Red-breasted Merganser.

However, the female ducks are very pretty, with their super model looks and colors.

Female Red-breasted Merganser.

Female Red-breasted Merganser.

Female Red-breasted Merganser.

While they are considered large ducks, they look small when swimming by a seagull.

Female Red-breasted Mergansers and Herring Gull.

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All You Can Eat

13 Saturday Jan 2018

Posted by neihtn2012 in barnegat, Photography

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

photography, postaday, red-breasted merganser, ruddy turnstone

Like many of us, shore birds or ducks like to eat and are often busy fishing or foraging for food. Two days ago, I saw quite a few Red-breasted Merganser swimming and diving along the Barnegat Lighthouse jetty. A female Merganser was particularly energetic in her diving and was eventually rewarded with a good catch.

Red-breasted Merganser caught a fish.

Red-breasted Merganser eating fish.

Meanwhile, on the jetty rocks some Ruddy Turnstones were having an all-you-can-eat buffet. These birds don’t go in the water much and prefer to remain on shore where they sometimes can find actual smorgasbords.

Ruddy Turnstones.

Ruddy Turnstone picking at oysters.

Ruddy Turnstone.

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The Eyes

01 Saturday Apr 2017

Posted by neihtn2012 in Photography

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

chickadee, photography, postaday, red-breasted merganser, ruddy duck, white-throated sparrow

As bird photographers, we are often told to focus on the bird eyes and make sure they are not only visible but also stand out.

Chickadees are quite common in our area, at any time of the year. Up to now in most of the photos I took of them, their black eyes blend in and are indistinguishable from their black cap. Recently, at sunset, one of them posed long enough with its head turned to the sun, and revealed its bright eyes.

Carolina Chickadee.

The female Ruddy Duck has brown eyes, usually lost in its brown cap, until the sun shines on them.

Female Ruddy Duck.

Sparrows have brown eyes which are more visible, but a ray of sunlight also helped to bring them out.

White-throated Sparrow.

On the other hand Red-breasted Mergansers have devilish red eyes that cannot be missed.

Red-breasted Mergansers.

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Two Backyard Birds and a Water Bird

21 Saturday Jan 2017

Posted by neihtn2012 in Photography

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

blue jay, house finch, photography, postaday, red-breasted merganser

For this rainy and bland weekend, I offer three colorful photos taken over the past two weeks.

Blue Jay waiting for me to go away so it can get to the roasted peanuts.

Blue Jay waiting for me to go away so it can get to the roasted peanuts.

A handsome House Finch.

A handsome House Finch.

Red-breasted Merganser.

Red-breasted Merganser near Barnegat Lighthouse.

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Loon, Long-Tailed Duck, Red-Breasted Mergansers, Mallards

08 Sunday Jan 2017

Posted by neihtn2012 in barnegat, EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, common loon, long-tailed duck, mallard, photograpy, postaday, red-breasted merganser

A week ago at the Barnegat Lighthouse, many people came to walk along the beach, as it was sunny and the wind was bearable, especially if one wore a good winter jacket or coat.

Barnegat Lighthouse on January 1st, 2017.

Barnegat Lighthouse on January 1st, 2017.

Along the jetty, but away from the swift currents that Harlequin ducks preferred, there were three other kinds of ducks or waterbirds swimming and diving calmly for food.

Common Loon, in itsnon-breeding colors.

Common Loon, a large waterbird in its non-breeding colors.

Long-tailed Duck. This kind of duck can do deep dives up to 200 ft (60 m),

Long-tailed Duck. This kind of duck can deep dive up to 200 ft (60 m). This one was just looking around and enjoying the sun.

Red-breasted Mergansers, a rather large duck compared to the Hooded Mergansers that I have photographed last year.

Red-breasted Mergansers, a rather large duck compared to the well-coiffed Hooded Mergansers that I photographed last year.

Earlier in the day, I saw a pair of Mallards dabbling for food at Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge which has been practically closed due to road repairs for at least half a year now.

A pair of Mallards.

A pair of Mallards. They don’t dive and just dabble for food near the surface of the water.

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