Hooded Mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus) are strange-looking ducks—no other ducks that I see regularly look like them. The shape and proportions of their heads and bills are so unusual and cartoonish that they look like they were created at Disney Studios.
Most of the time when I see Hooded Mergansers, they are in small groups, but last week I spotted only a solitary male during a short visit to a suburban pond not far from where I live. The “Hoodie” seemed to be content to swim around alone, not interacting with the other ducks on the pond and not spending any noticeable time fishing—Hooded Mergansers dive for fish, crayfish, and other food, seizing it in their thin, serrated bills.
The weather was cold, gray, and windy on the day I captured these images, conditions that are quite typical during the winter here. Weather forecasters predict that today will be mostly sunny, so I hope to have a chance to get out in nature with my camera and exercise both my body and my soul. As Vincent Van Gogh once wrote in a letter to his brother Theo, ““Always continue walking a lot and loving nature, for that’s the real way to learn to understand art better and better.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I don’t remember ever hearing of a duck (or any other bird) with a serrated bill. That’s an interesting detail. I’ve never seen one of these, so I’ve never done any reading about them.
They form a group of ducks called sawbills.
Thanks! I didn’t realize that our Red-breasted Mergansers are ‘sawbills’ as well. Of course, I’ve only seen one pair of those in my life; they’re another species that birders who go searching tend to find; there are plenty of local reports about them, but even the Audubon articles keep ‘sawbill’ tucked away where the word’s barely noticed!
I have run across the reference to sawbill before, but never really paid it much attention. Some local photographers have photographed Hooded Mergansers catching crayfish, and perhaps the “sawbills” help with that kind of a meal.
You’re welcome.
Beautiful duck, indeed!
Blue Rock HorsesFrederick County, Virginiabluerockhorses.com
<
div dir=”ltr”>
Oh I can never get enough of the hooded mergansers, so these two photos were a real treat, Mike. Lovely images of a cool duck, and great water patterns too.
Thanks, Jet. I love these little guys. I was hoping for a bit more light to be able to showcase the pretty yellow eyes, but the sun was not cooperative. The water patterns were a nice consolation prize. 🙂
Awesome shot of a fantastic bird.
Your informative and thoughtful words along with the beautiful photos never fail to bring a smile to the face and sunshine to the day! And being quotatious by nature, as last seen in my comment on your Jan.1st “Beginning Softly”, I was delighted that you added a quote by van Gogh. It brought to mind something that former President Jimmy Carter wrote in a book published in 1988 (though the copy I came across is a 1994 reprint) “An Outdoor Journal : Adventure and Reflections.” “Like music and art, love of nature is a common language that can transcend political or social boundaries.” Thank-you, Mr. Mike!
Thanks. I love the quote that you included…it is so true. Love of nature is universal, though the particular elements of nature that are present in different local areas can be quite different. Thus, for example, birds that are “common” in my area may be “rare” in other parts of the United States.
Mike: We have a second home on a lagoon off Barnegat Bay, NJ, and these days, (no boating to speak of) the Hooded Mergansers come wandering around, usually 4 or 5 at a time, …a pleasure to watch, diving for food, and then popping up again …like little toys – after about a minute or so. They are adorable, sometimes in the company of a seagull (nondiving) or two floating around. They provide a well-appreciated casual pastime, in these colder months before the lagoon freezes over. Thanks for your awesome Images. Marty
Thanks, Marty. I like your description of Hooded Mergansers as “like little toys”–they remind me of little rubber duckies in the bathtub. 🙂
So cool! Love these ducks!!
Thanks. Hooded Mergansers definitely have a cool, distinctive look.
First photo looks as if it is brooding about something?
Brooding? I often wonder what my wildlife subjects are thinking and feeling. 🙂