Common Mergansers

[pauraque]

I spotted this pair of Common Mergansers (also called Goosander in Europe) on the river yesterday. I was up on a bridge and I don't think they realized I was there, so I got some lovely close looks as they swam by.



The male has a mostly white body with a black back and a very dark green head which can look black depending on lighting. The female is gray with a pale breast and a reddish-brown head featuring a shaggy punk hairstyle. Both have a narrow red bill, used to poke around in the sediment when they dive underwater for prey.

Comments

[weird]

Beautiful! I always think ducks have such stylish markings :)

[pauraque]

They often do!

[cmcmck]

One where the female tends to be the more spectacular.

[pauraque]

She is fancy. :)

[ranunculus]

Really lovely pictures.

[pauraque]

Thanks!

[kaishin108]

I see a lot of pretty ducks around here but these, those markings wow!

[pauraque]

They were a welcome sight!

[yourlibrarian]

Oh nice!

[pauraque]

:)

[kaberett]

Oh these are lovely, thank you!

[pauraque]

Glad to share!

[turlough]

Wow, they look so cool! They're supposed to be quite common here in Sweden but I've never seen one.

[pauraque]

I find that they're a little shy and not as comfortable around people as some other waterfowl. I live in a rural area so I run into them a bit more.

[pameladean]

Those are great! I hadn't realized that the male's head was really dark green.

We get a lot of hooded mergansers here (Minnesota, USA) in season, but the common ones, while present, don't seem actually as common, heh.

P.

[pauraque]

We get a lot of Hooded as well! They don't seem as bothered by people being close by.

[full_metal_ox]

I’m imagining humansonae for them: the drake in an immaculate black suit and white shirt with slicked-back hair, and the duck in athletic gray sweats with a ginger mohawk: the stuff of an odd couple rom-com.

[pauraque]

That's perfect and I'm going to think of that every time I see a pair now. :)

[shirebound]

Love that punk hairstyle! Great shots.

[pauraque]

Thanks!

[adafrog]

Cool, thanks.

[pauraque]

:)

[blackcatofmisery]

They're beautiful!! I've not been seeing many ducks in my region, yet, and I'm kind of worried. Those I have seen have mostly been single male mallards. It's nice to see a duo.

=^..^=~

[pauraque]

We get a lot of ducks passing through for migration, but these ones are year-round for us!

[adore]

Love the shaggy punk hairstyle!

[pauraque]

Me too!

[sparowe]

Not sure we get those around here. Really like the female's feathers! Thank you for sharing. :)

[pauraque]

My pleasure!