First Winter Hooded Merganser

Two days ago at one of my local ponds I was able to take only a few photos of a Hooded Merganser before it disappeared from my line of sight. I had heard that there was a female Hoodie at the pond and had taken some long distance images of it a while back. I hadn’t even looked at those files because the bird was so far away.

First winter Hooded Merganser preening – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

After taking my photos of the Hooded Merganser two days ago and looking closer at this duck I would say that this is a first winter bird. I am not prepared to say whether it is a male or female. Superficially it does appear to be a female but using “just” appearances in first winter birds can be fraught with pitfalls.

This Hooded Merganser has orange colored eyes. In an adult female Hooded Merganser I would expect them to be more brown to brownish olive. The chin of this Hooded Merganser would also show more white if it were an adult female and it is relatively buff brown.

Adult female Hooded Merganser and funky reflection – Nikon D500, f9, 1/640, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

This photo of an adult female Hooded Merganser was taken at Farmington Bay on Glover Pond two Decembers ago and I am sharing it for visual comparison. Note her brownish eye, her white chin, and also how much yellow there is in her bill.

First winter Hooded Merganser on an urban pond – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2500, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

This is a semi-profile view of the Hooded Merganser that I photographed two days ago. The bill of this merganser is primarily dark with only a little yellow on the bottom portion.

I’m hoping this Hooded Merganser sticks around long enough for me to see some changes in the bird’s plumage and eye color. Unless that occurs, I’m not not confident in my ability to confirm the gender of this individual merganser. Someone with more experience, for instance bird molt expert Peter Pyle, could probably come up with a conclusion almost instantaneously. I’m not that much of an expert on this species and won’t pretend to be. That would be dishonest.

I have photographed first winter male Hooded Mergansers previously at Farmington Bay WMA but they were further along in their molts than this bird is. It was far easier to determine their gender. This particular bird may have come from a later brood although I can’t be certain of that.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Hooded Merganser photos plus facts and information about this species.