Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Red-Breasted Merganser

01/28/14

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

I am sharing the Red-breasted and Common Mergansers.  The Red-Breasted Mergansers were seen at Barnegat Lighthouse and they can be found all along the Atlantic coast. Sorry for the lighting, it was a gray day.



I am pretty sure these are female Red-breasted Mergansers with their shaggy crest.

Above are the Red-Breasted Mergansers. The male has a rusty breast, white neck and a shaggy crest.


 Common Mergansers have been seen on our lake in the winter. They are rarely found in salt water.


Above for comparison the male Common Merganser in the front left has a brilliant white bottom and a green head. The females have  a rufous head with a neat crest.  I think both Mergansers females have weird looking do's.




Thanks for stopping by my post and for all the nice comments.

Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.  Thanks to our host Michelle our host Stewart.  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

64 comments:

  1. Lovely photos! We just get teh red breasted mergansers over here, I see a lot of females and youngsters but rarely see males, which is a shame as they're so handsome!

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  2. Hi Eileen. lovely to see these birds however I think the last shot is Goosanders. Note they are larger, the male has an all white front, no rusty breast and the back plumage is different than the R.B Mergansers. what do you think?

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  3. good morning eileen,
    such adorably handsome ducks and such beautiful shots, eileen!

    have a great day and stay warm, i know you're having some cold weather.

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  4. Such interesting plumage. I keep thinking some of them have really bad hair - I should reach for some shears.

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  5. I find them so sweet with their funny hairstyle :)) Great photos of the mergansers!

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  6. Lovely bird photos! So nice to see. A happy week I also wish you!

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  7. I really wish we had these birds where I live - they're so lovely to look at!

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  8. Brrrrrr . . . tell them the water is COLD!

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  9. Super photos Eileen, I love looking at your different varieties of ducks. Have a great day :)

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  10. I love seeing both the red-breasted and common mergansers. Here they swim in water that is surrounded by ice. Brrr.

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  11. Great shots. Last week was the first time I've seen a RB merganser at my neighborhood lake.

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  12. What a great series of these beautiful Mergansers.
    Beautiful as bobbing in the water.

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  13. I rarely get a glimpse of 'em.

    Maybe I need to hang out on freshwater areas more

    :O)

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  14. It's so wonderful to see your bird photos, for they are quite different from those in Australia, which are also different from the European ones.Thanks for your visit. No, the Dutch clogs are not comfortable, but the Swedish are,
    Wil, ABCW Team.

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  15. The merganser is such an interesting duck. How great to see more than one variety together.

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  16. Love those mergansers and their shaggy crest! Looks like they are having a bad hair day.

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  17. I love their crests! Nice captures Eileen!

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  18. This species of bird is not in my country.
    Very interesting and beautiful water birds.
    I send you warm greetings of distant Polish...
    Lucia

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  19. Good to see your comparison shots of the two species Eileen. I'm not seeing any of these guys and gals here in Lanzarote. I'm wishing some sunny days for you.

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  20. Nice captures, Eileen! We get the Mergansers here as well, at a local lake. I love seeing them.

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  21. They look rather funny with their red heads !

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  22. I enjoy seeing ALL of the Mergansers. Beautiful --no matter which 'kind' they are...

    Stay WARM today. Brrrrr.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  23. Ηello Eileen!!Great post!!!Amazing shots!!I have never seen the red breasted mergansers!So preety ducks!Wish you a happy and warm week!!Hugs!!
    Dimi...

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  24. Beautiful photos of beautiful birds!

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  25. Great shots! The females do have some funny hairdos haha!

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  26. hallo...just become member on your blog...the first post i comment..beautiful fotos...
    hope talk on our blogs with comments
    thank you

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  27. Nice photo post on the mergansers. I only see hoodies sometimes during migration when they stop on the pond.. Michelle

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  28. They definitely have wild and crazy 'hair-dos" but what a beautiful duck!

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  29. Since I have only seen them in books, magazines and on the net, up close and personal is great!...:)JP

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  30. These are marvelous photos of a duck we don't see around here. Thanks for sharing these with us.

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  31. Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my Critter post.

    We have Common Mergansers at our cabin. They are pretty much resident, but I do see more in the warmer months. A week ago, a lone male came by out front.

    Margy

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  32. What a nice set of photos. The ducks are so pretty and interesting. That water looks SOSOSOSO cold.

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  33. To są piękne ptaki i szkoda, że u nas ich nie ma. Pozdrawiam.
    These are beautiful birds and a shame that with us they do not. Yours.

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  34. Great shots, Eileen! Mergansers are such interesting looking ducks! Love their funky do's!!

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  35. Very pretty ducks! I haven't seen either species, except in photos.

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  36. They certainly do have a wild hair day going on!

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  37. I think someone is having a bad hair day.

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  38. Thanks for the info... Unusual birds to me. I agree with the previous comment - the water looks cold!

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  39. Beautiful photos. I've occasionally seen female common mergansers, but never a male.

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  40. I love those shaggy wigs on the mergansers ... so very cute Eileen.

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  41. So pretty Eileen, great photos of the Merganser.

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  42. I do love their unusual "hair-do's" :)

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  43. Great set of pics Eileen, its a while sisnce I've seen either of these species.
    Take care, Gordon.

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  44. Hello Eileen, I am running behind with blog reading due to our weather. These are lovely photos and a real treat for me to see. Wishing you a nice day.
    Mildred

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  45. We see these mergansers in northern Ontario when we're camping. I always think they're rather comical with their quick, purposeful swimming and funky hair ;) Wendy x

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  46. Wonderful photos of the ducks. It looks a bit windy in your area...
    Best regards, Synnöve

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  47. Hello Eileen,
    This is a very interesting post.
    Mergansers are lovely ducks and I can't wait to see some.
    It looks like we don't get them down where I live... Too bad!
    I love their peculiar beaks!
    Keep well!

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  48. awesome images....love that punk rock hair do!!

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  49. Mergansers are amazing birds....and to spot both in the same area makes the ID sometimes challenging:) I think I slide to RBME as my favorite of the two....but they are both cool:)

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  50. Such lovely birds. I only get to see Goosanders and Mergansers when I am in Scotland ... so great, Eileen, to see your photos now.

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  51. I do like the Merganser. I don't see enough of them, so great to see your pictures.

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  52. Hi Eileen
    Always love those "crazy hair" Merganser gals!

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  53. Very nice shots. Gray day or not. We have several type of Merganser drop in at our pond now and then. We call it the Pond Motel---stay a day or a week. MB

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  54. Great photos Eileen, I love Mergansers those wild hairstyles are great!

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  55. I love the female mergansers with their strange "hair dos". They always look like they are having a bad hair day.

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  56. The Mergansers are beautifull, I'd love to see them in person. Even salt water will no in winter.

    Great series, Eileen.
    Keep warm :)

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  57. Lovely photos, Eileen! It would be so neat to see so many mergansers ant one time!

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  58. Dearest Eileen;
    Your photos are always fabulous; I enjoyed the varieties of colors and feathery heads of Mergansers♡♡♡

    Sending you lots of Love and Hugs from Japan to my dear friend in America, xoxo Miyako*

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