{"id":15426,"date":"2014-07-19T06:16:42","date_gmt":"2014-07-19T12:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=15426"},"modified":"2025-07-21T09:28:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T14:28:10","slug":"move-a-little-red-breasted-merganser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/07\/19\/move-a-little-red-breasted-merganser\/","title":{"rendered":"Move A Little – Red-breasted Merganser"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RestingResting Red-breasted Merganser on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1\/320, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm<\/span><\/p>\n

Moving; even just a little bit, can change the background of an image even when the subject is stationary.<\/p>\n

One May morning I spotted a Red-breasted Merganser resting on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico at Fort De Soto, Florida and I knew I had to photograph it.<\/p>\n

The merganser wasn’t bothered when I slowly belly crawled up to it in the wet sand. After taking quite a few images of the merganser I wanted something different in the background besides the incoming waves. This image was taken looking due west.<\/p>\n

\"Red-breastedRed-breasted Merganser taking a rest on the Gulf shore\u00a0– Nikon D200, handheld, f8, 1\/500, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 370mm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So I belly crawled\u00a0into a slightly different location\u00a0where I\u00a0could view\u00a0the bird\u00a0looking southwest and started photographing the Red-breasted Merganser again.<\/p>\n

Completely different background and completely different look.<\/p>\n

I learned if I didn’t like the background or wanted a different look I could just move a little.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Red-breasted Merganser photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n

Another post about this\u00a0same Red-breasted Merganser is here<\/span><\/a><\/span>. See how the background changed because of the waves?<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Moving; even just a little bit, can change the background of an image even when the subject is stationary. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":150548,"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":[4039,1129,126,173,4077,4705,4704,277,140,4156,4017,4891,165,3996,2063,4119],"class_list":["post-15426","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-beach","tag-duck","tag-ducks-2","tag-gulf-coast","tag-gulf-of-mexico","tag-merganser","tag-mergansers","tag-mergus-serrator","tag-red-breasted-merganser","tag-resting","tag-sand","tag-shore","tag-spring","tag-water","tag-waterfowl","tag-waves"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/red-breasted-merganser-resting-mia-mcpherson-9770.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-40O","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14480,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/03\/01\/feeding-habits-of-red-breasted-mergansers\/","url_meta":{"origin":15426,"position":0},"title":"Feeding Habits of Red-breasted Mergansers","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 1, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"According to Birds of North America there are four foraging methods used by Red-breasted Mergansers which are Cooperative Herding, Individual Search, Shallow Diving and Deep Diving.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-breasted Merganser diving into a wave on the Gulf Coast, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/red-breasted-merganser-wave-mia-mcpherson-8561.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/red-breasted-merganser-wave-mia-mcpherson-8561.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Gulf shore, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/red-breasted-merganser-resting-waves-mia-mcpherson-9790.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/red-breasted-merganser-resting-waves-mia-mcpherson-9790.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/red-breasted-merganser-resting-waves-mia-mcpherson-9790.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/red-breasted-merganser-resting-waves-mia-mcpherson-9790.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/red-breasted-merganser-gulf-mia-mcpherson-5387.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-gulf-mia-mcpherson-5387.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/red-breasted-merganser-gulf-mia-mcpherson-5387.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/red-breasted-merganser-gulf-mia-mcpherson-5387.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14033,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/01\/30\/red-breasted-merganser-on-the-gulf-of-mexico\/","url_meta":{"origin":15426,"position":3},"title":"Red-breasted Merganser On The Gulf Of Mexico","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 30, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-breasted Merganser drake in eclipse plumage on the Gulf of Mexico, 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-florida-mia-mcpherson-5952.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-florida-mia-mcpherson-5952.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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