Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Just Mergansers

I am linking up with World Bird Wednesday  and Nature Notes


During our trip to the Jersey Shores last weekend we stopped at the Edwin Forsythe NWR. If you have a chance the Edwin Forsythe NWR it is an awesome place to visit and see birds.  This time of year, there are tons of ducks and amazing numbers of  Snow Geese and American Black Ducks. The Common Merganser was one that caught my eye so I decided I would make the Merganser my bird of the week.


I thought it was wild to see this one male with his group of what I assume are females. What does he have a harem or maybe they are groupies? Or they could be his kids, following around behind him.  I can almost hear the kiddies saying are we there yet? You can not miss the male, he has the brilliant white below and a green head with a narrow red bill.




The female has a rufous head with a neat crest.

On the shot above you can make out a white chin on the two females behind the male. 


Above on the left is the male Hooded  Merganser, in the middle is the female Hoodie and on the right a female Common Merganser.


I believe this is the female Hooded Merganser, she has a gray body and a brown crest with a narrow bill.


A pair of Hooded Mergansers. The male Hooded Merganser has a crest that is bordered in black. Which can be raised. The sides are rufous and there are two black bars at the side of the breast.




In this shot the right front is the Red-breasted Merganser.  The male has the shaggy crest and a rusty breast. In the back on the left I am pretty sure it is the Northern Shoveler.




Click on my links to check out more wonderful birds and nature photos World Bird Wednesday  and Nature Notes.  Thanks to Springman of World Bird Wednesday and to Michelle of Nature Notes for hosting these fun memes.


  I hope you enjoyed my post, I appreciate the visits and the comments. I hope everyone has a great week , what is left of it and HAPPY BIRDING!!!!!

49 comments:

Sue said...

I've always enjoyed seeing Mergansers. Love love love the crazy "hair-do's". Kinda looks like me , on a busy day-LOL!

Dan Huber said...

Excellent pictures Eileen, I love the Mergansers and often can't get very close to get good views like your photos.

Cuby said...

I am glad that you are making the Merganser the bird of the week most deserved. I always know that when I open your blog I will be treated to some wonderful photos and today's does not disappoint. Thank you.

diane b said...

It looks a wonderful place for bird watching. I love the females crest. It looks like they are having a bad hair day.

jabblog said...

You certainly know your birds. Lovely shots:-)

TexWisGirl said...

love these crazy-headed hens! :)

Jen Sanford said...

I love a good merganser... I've seen similar groups of Common Mergs where there's only one male and handfuls of females... Quite the life!

Maude Lynn said...

I love ducks! Pretty shots!

Anonymous said...

Hi Eileen, Splendid shots! I like the Mergansers a lot. Yes, lots of hens in your picture with that drake. Don't you just love that spiky brown feather crest the hens have? Have an excellent day and a good one tomorrow, too!

Nature Rambles said...

A new bird to me. Looks like a great birding place. Love your header shot!

Icy BC said...

I haven't seen these type of ducks before..Love the feathery heads on them.

NatureFootstep said...

lol, the Merganser female look so cool with their "hairdo". Very good shots Eileen. :)

Leslie's Garden said...

What beautiful creatures these are! I am enjoying seeing and learning about theses water fowl, I don't live in an area that has much other than an few mallards in the lakes. I love the crest in the females.

Martha Z said...

Great images, Eileen. I viewed a female merganser while out walking yesterday. I didn't have my camera and I think it was too far away to get much of a shot. No male around to help identify the female.

Anonymous said...

That picture of the male with his harem (I want to choose that option!) is so darn cute -- all your pictures are great as always, but that one just makes me smile and smile! I love this post. And I love how you see so many wonderful birds you can choose a 'bird-of-the-week.'

Unknown said...

They are beauties!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

I love watching ducks. We sometimes see them wandering in nearby streets as we are close to the river.

Shelley said...

Very nice shots of the mergansers! That male must be really popular to have all those lady friends - ha,ha!

Tammie Lee said...

nothing 'just' about them. you show them off wonderfully.

Elaine said...

Very nice! I just love their cute "dos".

mick said...

It certainly looks like an awesome place to visit. A great series of photos.

rainfield61 said...

This is really a great place for birding.

You have plenty birds in hand.

Unknown said...

I just love those fluffy, feathery heads :-D
Beautiful shots!

Carletta said...

If I were a bird I'd want a crest like that. :)
You are always out there finding and sharing so many wonderful species. Nice job Eileen and thanks for sharing your expertise on whatever it is you post. :)
Have a great rest of the week!

SquirrelQueen said...

First, before I forget, I want to say how much I like the photo you used for your header. I would love to see Mergansers in the wild like that, great shots Eileen.

Bob Bushell said...

The Common Merganser is known as a Goosander in England, it is beautiful. And together, they are superb.

Brian King said...

Mergansers are beautiful ducks! Lovely shots, Eileen!

Betty Manousos said...

looks like a great place for bird watching!

i LOVE your shots of the mergansers!

Carole M. said...

I did enjoy visiting Eileen and seeing your wonderful mergansers. The girls hairdos wonderful. Great photos

Mary Howell Cromer said...

So that is what those are called...nest crests... These are such fun Eileen. I got to view these for the first time last spring and was taken by their beauty~

holdingmoments said...

They really are beautiful birds to see; and like Bob says, we call them Goosanders here.
I love the red headed females.

DeniseinVA said...

I have rarely seen these Mergansers. Thanks Eileen, loved all your photos.

Karin M. said...

a beautiful photo series .... soooo wonderful ducks ...
Greeting Karin

joo said...

Lovely collection of ducks!
Have a great week:)
J.

raf said...

Wonderful post, Eileen. Such a pretty and unique-looking bird is the common merganser. Yep, love those hair-dos.

Springman said...

Nice show Eileen!
I don't think I've ever seen the variations of mergansers so well and clearly explained. Appreciate that!

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

went to the hairdresser and had a mohawk style, I wonder if the feathers will fall down when they are wet.

Rambling Woods said...

LOL..the wind blew their crests down and I bet the feet were really paddling...I love mergansers..Thank you for linking up to NN Eileen..Michelle

Ebie said...

Haha, harem it is! Just a perfect adjective!

I call them all ducks, cannot distinguished one form the other species of ducks.

These are great photos!

Gillian Olson said...

They are great looking birds, thanks.

Joyful said...

Beautiful photos, Eileen. I love how you've really captured the ripples on the water.

Lindy said...

What beautiful birds. I've not seen these around our area but according to our state DNR, we do have them. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled now the next time we're around a body of water.

Thanks for your visit and comment at my photoblog. :-)

Leora said...

Beautiful shots, both of the birds and the setting. They have such wild looking "hairdos"! Each seems to look a bit different than the other.

Anonymous said...

Great pictures of the mergansers. I smiled at the hairdos; cute!

Crafty Green Poet said...

what wonderful photos of the mergansers!

Carver said...

Great shots of the water birds. The lighting is fantastic.

EG CameraGirl said...

I really like mergansers. I've seen quite a few here this winter so wonder if many have flown south.

Liz said...

This looks like a wonderful place for birdwatching! What gorgeous birds. I love the heads... they look like they have mohawks!

Kenneth Cole Schneider said...

Having grown up in New Jersey, I loved visiting "Brig." Luckily, my brother now lives on the very edge of the preserve, so we look forward to visiting him when the weather warms up.

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