Female and Male

Don’t You Flap Your Wings At Me!

March 21, 2022 — 11 Comments

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 320.

Hooded Merganser

In School

Teacher: “If I gave you 2 cats and another 2 cats and another 2, how many would you have?”
Bob: “Seven.”
Teacher: “No, listen carefully… If I gave you two cats, and another two cats and another two, how many would you have?”
Bob: “Seven.”
Teacher: “Let me put it to you differently. If I gave you two apples, and another two apples and another two, how many would you have?”
Bob: “Six.”
Teacher: “Good. Now if I gave you two cats, and another two cats and another two, how many would you have?”
Bob: “Seven!”
Teacher: “Bob, where in the heck do you get seven from?!”
Bob: “Because I’ve already got a freaking cat!”

Interesting Fact:  The Hooded Merganser is the second-smallest of the six living species of mergansers (only the Smew of Eurasia is smaller) and is the only one restricted to North America. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hooded_Merganser/lifehistory )

We Are Always Landing On Our Feet

January 10, 2016 — 18 Comments

Common Merganser

F/8.0, 1/2000, ISO 800.

Common Merganser

Duck Week Last Day

A duck walks into a bar and says to the bar tender “I’ll have a beer”.

The bartender says “Hey! where did you come from?”

The duck says “I’m working the construction site across the street”.

And the bartender says, “Well why are you working construction when you could be making millions in the circus?”

And the duck said “What would the circus want with a brick laying duck?”

 

Interesting Fact: You may see gulls trailing flocks of foraging Common Mergansers. They wait for the ducks to come to the surface and then try to steal their prey rather than fishing on their own. Occasionally even a Bald Eagle will try to steal a fish from a merganser. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Merganser/lifehistory )

And They’re Off!

January 8, 2016 — 16 Comments

Hooded Mergansers

F/ 6.3, 1/400, ISO 1600.

Hooded Mergansers

Duck Week Continues!

A circus owner walked into a bar to see everyone crowded about a table watching a little show. On the table was an upside down pot and a duck tap dancing on it. The circus owner was so impressed that he offered to buy the duck from its owner. After some wheeling and dealing, they settled for $10,000 for the duck and the pot. Three days later the circus owner runs back to the bar in anger, “Your duck is a ripoff! I put him on the pot before a whole audience, and he didn’t dance a single step!” “So?” asked the ducks former owner, “did you remember to light the candle under the pot?”

Interesting Fact: Along with Wood Ducks and other cavity-nesting ducks, Hooded Mergansers often lay their eggs in other females’ nests. This is called “brood parasitism” and is similar to the practice of Brown-headed Cowbirds, except that the ducks only lay eggs in nests of their own species. Female Hooded Mergansers can lay up to about 13 eggs in a clutch, but nests have been found with up to 44 eggs in them. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hooded_Merganser/lifehistory )