FOY Hooded Merganser in the Rouge

[Shortsighted]

Although Hooded merganser have been seen elsewhere on the lake, the big one, such as at Tommy Thomson, I spotted the FOY HM in the Rouge this morning, right on time with the thawing of the ice veneer.  There were three males and two females far from my side but close to the other side of the pond.  I tried handheld shots at 600mm and 840mm.  The males were displaying by throwing their head backwards, bill upwards, trying to make the females laugh.  Seems like a cervical hazard.


840mm





600mm

[Shortsighted]

I decided to drop by the local pond again despite it being a dull rainy day.  I hoped that the Hooded merganser might be more inclined to spread-out over the pond instead of remaining cloistered on the inaccessible shoreline next to the sign that says INACCESSIBLE SHORELINE, which makes me re-evaluate the merganser's reading skills.  I was quite right in my prognostication.  There were more merganser today than before and they were indeed all over the place, including my side of the pond.  Well, not exactly my side, for I don't actually own it, but I am working it.  Even walking 20 feet from the water alerts these merganser and they veer farther away.  I decided to return home and remove my blue parka emblazoned with CANADA IS NOT FOR SALE and instead don an old jacket from the 1960's and cover that with a camo poncho.  I then drove back to the pond and cautiously approached the water's edge and hunkered down under the partial cover of a cedar tree.  Remaining essentially motionless and with the concealment of my poncho I found that the merganser were much more at ease and therefore approached closer.  Unfortunately, the day was dark and I needed to boost my ISO to several-1000 and that state of affairs is contrary to the demands of my DX sensor that much prefers an ISO below 1000.  All shots were taken at 600mm and cropped.