The Travels of Tug 44


Common Merganser Duck






The Common Merganser Ducks are diving ducks, they go after small fish. This one is a male, mostly white with a green irridescent head.   high-res



And this is the object of his affection, a female Common Merganser. Ya gotta love red heads.   high-res



February 2017, it's mating season on the Battenkill River, and this male Common Merganser does a high-speed pass to impress the female. They go rather fast too, I was impressed ... but she wasn't.   high-res



Another high-speed pass, but this time the female is bored and heads off in the other direction. The Common Merganser Duck.   high-res



A female Common Merganser poses for me on the rapids of the Hudson River. Note the serrated bill, very handy for catching fish.   high-res



Met this juvenile Common Merganser in a Fort Edward Swamp. It's mostly brown with a white breast. The water there was only a foot deep but this one chased fish underwater, and at extremely high speeds.   high-res



This is a group (known as a raft) of Common Merganser females getting ready to fly. They are starting to paddle furiously.   high-res



They pick up speed as they flap and paddle, and actually run on the water until they get airborne.   high-res

The Common Merganser Duck, in love with a red-head. :)




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