{"id":14033,"date":"2014-01-30T06:35:33","date_gmt":"2014-01-30T13:35:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=14033"},"modified":"2025-09-12T08:04:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T13:04:19","slug":"red-breasted-merganser-on-the-gulf-of-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/01\/30\/red-breasted-merganser-on-the-gulf-of-mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"Red-breasted Merganser On The Gulf Of Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Red-breastedRed-breasted Merganser drake in eclipse plumage on the Gulf of Mexico – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/750, ISO 160, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 360mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes I find an image appealing because of the memories it\u00a0wakes up and not so much from the technical or compositional aspects, this Red-breasted Merganser image is one that isn’t perfect but it does awaken memories and stirs my senses.<\/p>\n

This male Red-breasted Merganser in eclipse plumage was just off shore in\u00a0west central Florida\u00a0and had been bathing in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico when it started to flap its wings.<\/p>\n

It was so peaceful and\u00a0I can almost smell the sea breeze just looking at it. I was with good friends who are also photographers. We laughed, we learned and we enjoyed.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

Sometimes I find an image appealing because of the memories it wakes up and not so much from the technical or compositional aspects, this Red-breasted Merganser image is one that isn’t perfect but it does awaken memories and stirs my senses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":155463,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,25,704,2000,133],"tags":[4004,4753,2113,4077,4062,4705,4704,277,140,2063,3200,373],"class_list":["post-14033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-pinellas-county-florida","category-red-breasted-mergansers","tag-adult","tag-diving-ducks","tag-eclipse-plumage","tag-gulf-of-mexico","tag-male","tag-merganser","tag-mergansers","tag-mergus-serrator","tag-red-breasted-merganser","tag-waterfowl","tag-wing-flapping","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/red-breasted-merganser-florida-mia-mcpherson-5952.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-3El","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7393,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/02\/04\/different-plumages-phases-of-red-breasted-merganser-drakes\/","url_meta":{"origin":14033,"position":0},"title":"Different Plumage Phases Of Red-breasted Merganser Drakes","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Awhile back someone told me that Mergansers don't change their plumage seasonally, which is of course incorrect as all three species of mergansers that live in North America do.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Drake Red-breasted Merganser in breeding plumage, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/red-breasted-merganser-male-breeding-mia-mcpherson-1094.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/red-breasted-merganser-male-breeding-mia-mcpherson-1094.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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"Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-breasted Merganser lifting off, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/red-breasted-merganser-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-2944.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/red-breasted-merganser-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-2944.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/red-breasted-merganser-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-2944.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/red-breasted-merganser-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-2944.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Merganser in Utah, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County,","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/common-merganser-mia-mcpherson-9392.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-mia-mcpherson-9392.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/common-merganser-mia-mcpherson-9392.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/common-merganser-mia-mcpherson-9392.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15426,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/07\/19\/move-a-little-red-breasted-merganser\/","url_meta":{"origin":14033,"position":5},"title":"Move A Little – Red-breasted Merganser","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 19, 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