Hooded Merganser Gallery

Lophodytes cucullatus

eBird offers this description of the Hooded Merganser:  Small diving duck with thin serrated bill. Breeding males have showy black-and-white crest, a couple zebra stripes on the white breast, and cinnamon-colored sides. Females are brown with a puffy crest and partly yellow bill. Looks slender and long-necked in flight, with very fast wingbeats. Widespread across much of North America, but usually only seen in pairs or small flocks. Nests in cavities near small ponds or marshes; especially fond of wooded swamps. In winter, usually found on calm bodies of water; almost never on the ocean. Sometimes mixes loosely with other duck species.  All About Birds gives this additional descriptive information about the Hooded Merganser: “Hooded” is something of an understatement for this extravagantly crested little duck. Adult males are a sight to behold, with sharp black-and-white patterns set off by chestnut flanks. Females get their own distinctive elegance from their cinnamon crest. Hooded Mergansers are fairly common on small ponds and rivers, where they dive for fish, crayfish, and other food, seizing it in their thin, serrated bills. They nest in tree cavities; the ducklings depart with a bold leap to the forest floor when only one day old.

I saw my first Hooded Merganser at Fair Oaks Ranch on February 6, 2022 in the early afternoon.  Dorothy and I had picked up lunch for Liz, David, and J.D. and, after lunch, I slipped away to drive a short distance from their home to a lake located on the Fair Oaks Country Club golf course.  I had noticed on eBird that a Canada Goose was a continuing rarity at that location.  I located the goose, and also watched and photographed some other ducks on the lake.  Among these ducks were several Hooded Mergansers, both male and female.  What beautiful birds!