I photographed these Common Mergansers at my local pond three years ago today. I will explain why I only had a few minutes with the mergansers at my local pond.
Drake Common Merganser close up – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon, and I hoped there would be great birds to photograph at my local pond. There were!
Among the waterfowl at the pond were Common Mergansers, which I typically see here in northern Utah during the coldest months of the year. So far this winter, I haven’t seen this species at my local pond.
I was tickled to be able to take a nice, close-up series of photos of this drake merganser. A lot of times, the adult drakes and hens don’t swim this close to me. I was thrilled when this male did.
Drake Common Merganser sliding on a pond – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/3200, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
But then, all the birds on the pond became nervous. Canada Geese honked, then took off and flew away. Common Goldeneyes and the mergansers became skittish. Mallards quacked and went on the wing. Coots and Pied-billed Grebes skittered across the water, looking for any safe spaces.
Two immature Common Mergansers in flight – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
It was late afternoon, and the birds should have been feeding and getting ready for the long, cold winter night ahead.
They weren’t. The birds, including the mergansers, at the pond were all in alarmed, chaotic mode.
Remote controlled speedboat bothering wild birds – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
This remote-controlled speedboat, which a man put into the pond, was the reason all the birds were scattering when they should have been settling down for the evening. The remote-controlled toy was loud, intrusive, and obnoxious.
When you drive into the parking area of this pond, there is a sign notifying people that motorized or non-motorized water vessels are not allowed on the pond.
I guess that man thought his noisy motorized toy boat that he sent all over the water was special?
That toy speedboat ruined my photo session with the mergansers at the pond, but much, much worse than that?
That man harassed every single bird on or near the pond with his toy. I have to wonder if he gave that a single moment of thought.
If he hadn’t been on the other side of the pond, I would have talked to him about wildlife ethics and consideration for the birds and other people simply trying to enjoy their evening at the local park. Of course, he might have just been a jerk about it. You simply never know.
I’m not even sure that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act covers this kind of harassment of wild birds. It should.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Common Merganser photos plus facts and information about this species.
This is where a shotgun could have served a useful purpose. Blow the damn thing out of the water! Well, no matter how satisfying that would be, maybe using a big net would suffice. No point scaring the wildlife even more. As for the guy who floated his boat…”Stupid is as stupid does…” [Mama Gump sure got that right!] Thanks Mia.
I’ve been able to access your posts via the email link. 😃
As for Mr. Entitled, I wish there had been a way to sink the douchecanoe’s boat — and him as well. (Feeling feisty today. 😈 )
Re your posts not loading from the e-mails we receive — I’ve been having this same problem for the last week or so. I have found that if I click on the “Title” of the post, it loads up right away. Clicking “Comment” also works, but takes you down to the very bottom, past your post and all the prior comments which means I need to scroll all the way up to get to the beginning.
WOW. I wonder if you could report the activity to the local authorities governing that body of water? Maybe it could even be posted: No drones, no remote-controlled devices, including toy boats, on the water.
Lots of times people just don’t realize birds, particularly in winter, need to be left undisturbed to protect themselves against the cold. Maybe a sign about that might be helpful as well.
For some unknown reason I can no longer open your posts, it started three posts ago, is anyone else having this issue.
Thanks Rosemary.
Rosemary,
A plugin called JetPack, is what sends out the automated emails when I publish a post and for some reason the link to the post isn’t exactly right. If you click the link that says “Comment” it will take you to the correct link. This is a problem JetPack is aware of, waiting for it to be fixed. So sorry!
Mia
I strongly suspect that the man (self entitled to the nth degree) would have been a jerk if you had been able to talk to him. Hiss and spit.
Mia—for the past several days I have had trouble accessing the site. When I click on ‘continue’ it won’t go to the post but has a rapidly moving line of text at the bottom of a blank screen. I finally figured out that I could see the post if I clicked on ‘comment’. I’m not having issues with any other site. I wonder if any other of your followers are having a problem?
Marty, I thought JetPack, which is the plugin that sends out the email notifications of newly published posts, had fixed that problem. I’m sorry to hear that it hasn’t! Ugh. I will check with support on the issue. I can see that the link they are using in that email does not use the https url. But you are right, if you click ‘comment’ it goes to the post.
Great photos! That man was a jerk, no matter what! What an idiot!