{"id":119774,"date":"2024-01-17T04:55:57","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T11:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=119774"},"modified":"2024-01-22T05:18:15","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T12:18:15","slug":"urban-hooded-merganser-drake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/01\/17\/urban-hooded-merganser-drake\/","title":{"rendered":"Urban Hooded Merganser Drake"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thanks to Shane Smith, neighbor, friend, and budding bird photographer, I photographed this drake Hooded Merganser two days ago at one of our local ponds. Shane texted me to let me know that the hooded mergansers were at the pond after he found them there. Thanks, Shane!<\/p>\n

\"DrakeDrake Hooded Merganser on an urban pond \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f8, 1\/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I had left the pond only minutes before. The Hooded Mergansers weren’t there while I was scoping the pond out. When I was driving home, Shane and I stopped to talk briefly, while he was heading down to the ponds with his son, Kadence. I was only home a few minutes when Shane texted about the four mergansers he found, so I gathered my gear and drove back down to the pond.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

And the lesson to be learned here?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In just a few minutes, new birds can arrive anywhere; after all, they do have wings and can fly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When I was at the pond, I trudged through the snow to take photos of the mergansers. I didn’t have the best light angle, but I was delighted to see and photograph the four striking, crested diving ducks. Ducks that I only see here during the coldest months of the year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"UrbanUrban drake Hooded Merganser \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f8, 1\/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

The temperature was frigid, and I knew I could only stay with the Hooded Mergansers that afternoon for a few minutes.<\/p>\n

I have Raynaud’s Syndrome<\/span><\/a>, an auto immune disorder, which affects my hands and feet in cold weather. My hands were already hurting from my exposure earlier when I was photographing the Ring-billed Gull<\/span><\/a> I shared yesterday.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

I photographed the Hooded Mergansers for nine minutes and then hauled up my gear back to my Jeep to head home. Even though I would have liked to have stayed with the mergansers longer and would have enjoyed a better light angle, I was happy with some of the images I took.<\/p>\n

Parental Craziness<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I hope the mergansers stick around so I can photograph them again. The mergansers might have left because a little birdie told me that a family, husband, wife, and two children, were throwing snowballs at all the ducks on that pond yesterday afternoon.<\/p>\n

What those parents were teaching their children yesterday afternoon was flat out wrong.<\/p>\n

I’m glad I wasn’t there to witness their cruelty. The birds at the pond don’t need any added stress during the harshest months of the year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Thanks to Shane Smith, neighbor, friend, and budding bird photographer, I photographed this drake Hooded Merganser two days ago at one of our local ponds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":119768,"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":[27,6932,709,26],"tags":[4004,4753,4483,1129,126,6934,6933,4062,4705,4704,10698,1984,14654,8018,3996,373],"class_list":["post-119774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-hooded-mergansers","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-diving-ducks","tag-drake","tag-duck","tag-ducks-2","tag-hooded-merganser","tag-lophodytes-cucullatus","tag-male","tag-merganser","tag-mergansers","tag-park","tag-pond","tag-raynauds-syndrome","tag-urban","tag-water","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/hooded-merganser-drake-urban-mia-mcpherson-2781.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-v9Q","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":119774,"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":62424,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/01\/05\/hooded-merganser-drake-a-one-day-opportunity\/","url_meta":{"origin":119774,"position":1},"title":"Hooded Merganser Drake – A One Day Opportunity","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 5, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"In December I had eight minutes and twenty-four seconds to photograph this Hooded Merganser drake and every time I have gone to the local pond after that I have looked for him to be there again.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hooded Merganser drake swimming by, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/hooded-merganser-drake-swimming-by-mia-mcpherson-5015.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/hooded-merganser-drake-swimming-by-mia-mcpherson-5015.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/hooded-merganser-drake-swimming-by-mia-mcpherson-5015.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/hooded-merganser-drake-swimming-by-mia-mcpherson-5015.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":109434,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/01\/08\/first-winter-hooded-merganser-at-an-urban-pond\/","url_meta":{"origin":119774,"position":2},"title":"First Winter Hooded Merganser At An Urban Pond","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 8, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"A few days ago I had the opportunity to photograph this first winter Hooded Merganser at an urban pond that isn't far from where I live after a heavy snow.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"First winter Hooded Merganser after a dive, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/hooded-merganser-first-winter-mia-mcpherson-7530.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/hooded-merganser-first-winter-mia-mcpherson-7530.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/hooded-merganser-first-winter-mia-mcpherson-7530.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/hooded-merganser-first-winter-mia-mcpherson-7530.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":108836,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/12\/19\/first-winter-hooded-merganser\/","url_meta":{"origin":119774,"position":3},"title":"First Winter Hooded Merganser","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"First winter Hooded Merganser preening, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/hooded-merganser-pond-mia-mcpherson-6146.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/hooded-merganser-pond-mia-mcpherson-6146.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/hooded-merganser-pond-mia-mcpherson-6146.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/hooded-merganser-pond-mia-mcpherson-6146.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":55680,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/01\/14\/hen-and-drake-hooded-mergansers-with-and-without-prey\/","url_meta":{"origin":119774,"position":4},"title":"Hen and Drake Hooded Mergansers With and Without Prey","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The birds I photographed the most yesterday were a pair of Hooded Mergansers that were actively foraging for prey most of the time I had them in my viewfinder.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Hooded Merganser with a Weather Loach, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/hooded-merganser-male-weather-loach-mia-mcpherson-1100.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/hooded-merganser-male-weather-loach-mia-mcpherson-1100.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/hooded-merganser-male-weather-loach-mia-mcpherson-1100.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/hooded-merganser-male-weather-loach-mia-mcpherson-1100.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":100150,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/02\/22\/drake-hooded-merganser-on-the-bear-river\/","url_meta":{"origin":119774,"position":5},"title":"Drake Hooded Merganser On The Bear River","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this month I stopped to take photos of a drake Hooded Merganser floating on the Bear River before the sun lit up that part of the 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":"Low light drake Hooded Merganser 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\/2022\/02\/hooded-merganser-drake-on-bear-river-mia-mcpherson-9437.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/hooded-merganser-drake-on-bear-river-mia-mcpherson-9437.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/hooded-merganser-drake-on-bear-river-mia-mcpherson-9437.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/hooded-merganser-drake-on-bear-river-mia-mcpherson-9437.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\/119774","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=119774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}