{"id":113621,"date":"2023-05-31T01:15:03","date_gmt":"2023-05-31T07:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=113621"},"modified":"2023-05-31T09:32:08","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T15:32:08","slug":"common-merganser-portrait-with-water-droplets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/05\/31\/common-merganser-portrait-with-water-droplets\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Merganser Portrait With Water Droplets"},"content":{"rendered":"

A simple portrait of a Common Merganser, featuring water droplets and a bow wave, is what I wanted to share this morning. The photo was taken at my local pond.<\/p>\n

\"CommonCommon Merganser portrait with water droplets and a bow wave \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The first spring merganser swam close to where I stood on the shoreline of the pond. I was delighted to be able to take portraits of this diving duck with water droplets falling from its bill and a bow wave in front of it.<\/p>\n

I have noticed that this particular species of mergansers tends to be somewhat skittish. I want you to understand how much I cherished having this one so close to me. Anytime I can take portraits of a bird or animal that has voluntarily come in close to me is a reason for me to celebrate. I danced behind my tripod the morning I photographed this Common Merganser<\/span><\/a>. The water droplets and the bow wave were the frosting on my cupcake.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to see more of my Common Merganser photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A simple portrait of a Common Merganser, featuring water droplets and a bow wave, is what I wanted to share this morning. The photo was taken at my local pond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":113617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,476,709,26],"tags":[8295,4142,13936,4753,7380,1129,126,5047,4067,4705,4704,4239,10698,1984,4046,8018,3996],"class_list":["post-113621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-common-mergansers","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-bow-wave","tag-close-up","tag-common-merganser-spring","tag-diving-ducks","tag-droplets","tag-duck","tag-ducks-2","tag-first-spring","tag-immature","tag-merganser","tag-mergansers","tag-mergus-merganser","tag-park","tag-pond","tag-portrait","tag-urban","tag-water"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/common-merganser-spring-urban-pond-mia-mcpherson-4183.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-tyB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":118413,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/11\/21\/drake-hooded-merganser-memory\/","url_meta":{"origin":113621,"position":0},"title":"Drake Hooded Merganser Memory","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 21, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Once upon a chilly December evening, I had a blast photographing a stunning drake Hooded Merganser in gorgeous light at an urban pond close to home.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Drake Hooded Merganser splashing after landing, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hooded-merganser-drake-mia-mcpherson-5141.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hooded-merganser-drake-mia-mcpherson-5141.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hooded-merganser-drake-mia-mcpherson-5141.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hooded-merganser-drake-mia-mcpherson-5141.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":119702,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/01\/15\/common-mergansers-and-remote-controlled-harassment\/","url_meta":{"origin":113621,"position":1},"title":"Common Mergansers And Remote Controlled Harassment","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 15, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Two immature Common Mergansers in flight, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/common-merganser-immature-flight-mia-mcpherson-8992.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/common-merganser-immature-flight-mia-mcpherson-8992.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/common-merganser-immature-flight-mia-mcpherson-8992.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/common-merganser-immature-flight-mia-mcpherson-8992.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":110602,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/03\/01\/hen-common-merganser-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":113621,"position":2},"title":"Hen Common Merganser At Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 1, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Last month I photographed this hen Common Merganser in a small spot of open water next to an ice shelf at Bear River MBR. It was a very cold morning.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hen Common Merganser flapping her wings next to an ice shelf, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/common-merganser-winter-ice-hen-mia-mcpherson-3163.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/common-merganser-winter-ice-hen-mia-mcpherson-3163.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/common-merganser-winter-ice-hen-mia-mcpherson-3163.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/common-merganser-winter-ice-hen-mia-mcpherson-3163.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":123760,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/13\/immature-common-merganser-shaking-off\/","url_meta":{"origin":113621,"position":3},"title":"Immature Common Merganser Shaking Off","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Just a simple photo of an immature Common Merganser today. I took this image of the merganser on the Bear River almost two years ago on a bright, sunny morning.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature Common Merganser shaking off water on the Bear River, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/common-merganser-flapping-bear-river-mia-mcpherson-1609.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/common-merganser-flapping-bear-river-mia-mcpherson-1609.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/common-merganser-flapping-bear-river-mia-mcpherson-1609.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/common-merganser-flapping-bear-river-mia-mcpherson-1609.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":109742,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/01\/20\/urban-drake-common-merganser-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":113621,"position":4},"title":"Urban Drake Common Merganser Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 20, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I can be way too picky when it comes to sharing my images. Today I'll explain why with these urban drake Common Merganser photos taken at my local pond.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Common Merganser drake about to dive, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/common-merganser-drake-urban-mia-mcpherson-0156.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/common-merganser-drake-urban-mia-mcpherson-0156.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/common-merganser-drake-urban-mia-mcpherson-0156.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/common-merganser-drake-urban-mia-mcpherson-0156.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":110339,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/02\/17\/dapper-drake-common-merganser-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":113621,"position":5},"title":"Dapper Drake Common Merganser At Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 17, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I am sharing photos of a dapper drake Common Merganser in his finest breeding plumage that I took four mornings ago at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bathing Common Merganser drake, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/common-merganser-winter-ice-drake-mia-mcpherson-3751.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/common-merganser-winter-ice-drake-mia-mcpherson-3751.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/common-merganser-winter-ice-drake-mia-mcpherson-3751.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/common-merganser-winter-ice-drake-mia-mcpherson-3751.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}