Posted on 01/26/2012 1:57:01 PM PST by SWAMPSNIPER
I got out for a while yesterday, a nice sunny day. I was riding with a friend who just isn't in to lurking around mud holes so I really couldn't get serious.
I got these pretty little Hooded Mergansers moving down a pond.
So beautiful—thank you very much!
Awesome!
Northern Shovelers have shorter lines in Texas:
![](http://i39.tinypic.com/otj0bq.jpg")
I took this photo with a two-power teleconverter and a 100-400mm lens set at 400mm. The teleconverter made it necessary to focus by hand. It is hard to get that focus just right, so I was experimenting with setting my f stop high, so that I would have a larger area in focus. At the same time, since this photo was effectively taken at a focal length of 1280mm (1.6 from the camera times 400mm times 2), I wanted a fast shutter speed to stop movement and camera shake. I set my f stop at 20 and my ISO at 2500. This resulted in a shutter speed of 1/3200ths of a second. This met the rule of thumb that you should have a shutter speed at least as fast as 1 over your effective focal length (1280 in my case).
Pinging the Agenda 21 folks! Here’s how I prefer to think of wildlife!
Thanks for the wonderful pictures Swampsniper! Thank you for the respite you provide!
FYI, in the past several days we have learned that the new Global Warming replacement scam seems to have to do with efforts to “protect wildlife.”
If you want to be on or off the Agenda 21 ping list, please notify me by Freepmail. It is a relatively low volume list in which we have been exploring the UN Agenda21 and related topics. We have collected our studies with threads, links, and discussions on the Agenda 21 thread which can be found here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2738418/posts
Your photos are such a pleasure to look at. Thanks for the ping.
Photo Bump..
Photo Bump..
Lovely! Thank You!
We just had a pair show up in the pond behind our house. We were not sure what they were. Thanks for clearing that up.
Very sweet picture...thanks for the ping
:-) Swampsniper is the Bomb!
Excellent as always.
Thanks for the ping!
Take the quiz below to determine how much you know about the Hooded Merganser. Scroll past the pictures for the answers.
1. True or False: The hooded merganser is the largest of the mergansers and the only one of the three species found only on North America.
2. How does the hooded merganser find food?
a. By sight, spotting its prey then diving underwater to grab lunch.
b. By touch, using its feet to grab small fish.
c. By smell, sniffing out its next meal.
d. By taste, using clues from its current meal to determine where, for example, a school of fish lives.
3. Where does the species nest?
a. On the beach.
b. In reeds.
c. In rock beds.
d. In tree cavities.
4. True or False: The hooded merganser and the Canada goose are in the same family.
5. What does it mean when a male flashes his hood?
a. Anger
b. Part of a courtship ritual
c. Territorial behavior
d. None of the aboveScroll past the picture for the answers.
Hooded Mergansers breed in swamps or wooded ponds in the northern U.S. or southern Canada. They are cavity nesters, like Wood Ducks, and will use provided boxes if suitable natural cavities are unavailable. Nestlings leave the cavity just one day after hatching.
2. How does the hooded merganser find food?
a. By sight, spotting its prey then diving underwater to grab lunch.
b. By touch, using its feet to grab small fish.
c. By smell, sniffing out its next meal.
d. By taste, using clues from its current meal to determine where, for example, a school of fish lives.
3. Where does the species nest?
a. On the beach.
b. In reeds.
c. In rock beds.
d. In tree cavities.
4. True or False: The hooded merganser and the Canada goose are in the same family.
5. What does it mean when a male flashes his hood?
a. Anger
b. Part of a courtship ritual
c. Territorial behavior
d. None of the above
|
*Answers* are below the pictures |
Swampsniper's Mergansers are *before*...this is *after*
Female Hooded Merganser & chicks-2 by Hikerboy45
Little lost duckling by tsmzth
Larry, Moe, Curly, Shemp by A. Drauglis Furnituremaker
Young hoods by A. Drauglis Furnituremaker
Hooded Merganser (female) w/ Ducklings by ~melanie~">
Hooded Merganser 1st spring males by Lee Rentz
1. True or False: The hooded merganser is the largest of the mergansers and the only one of the three species found only on North America.
False. While the hooded merganser is the only of the three species restricted to the continent, according to Birds of North America online, it’s actually the smallest, weighing in at a max of just under 2 pounds.
2. How does the hooded merganser find food?
A, By sight, spotting its prey then diving underwater to grab lunch. According to Cornell’s All about Birds: “The merganser can actually change the refractive properties of its eyes to enhance its underwater vision. In addition, the nictitating membrane (third eyelid) is very transparent and probably acts to protect the eye during swimming, just like a pair of goggles.” Cool!
3. Where does the species nest?
D, in tree cavities. They will also nest in downy-lined nest boxes. The female sets up shop, scouting for an appropriate cavity the summer before a pair attempts to breed. Clutch size ranges from 5 eggs to as many as 44 (Birds of North America online).
4. True or False: The hooded merganser and the Canada goose are in the same family.
True. They both fall into the Ducks, Geese, and Swans category of the Anatidae family. The wood duck, gadwall, and 40 other species fall into this group, too.
5. What does it mean when a male flashes his hood?
B, courtship. A common use of the crest is what Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park calls the head throw. “A male raises his crest and swims parallel to a female. He throws his head back sharply until it touches his back and then brings it forward slowly while emitting a rolling frog-like croak.” What a way to wow the ladies.
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I love learning! I love Swampsniper's birds! Hope you did too!
And I got an A on your test. Do I get a gold star? Ha ha!
Oh gosh those are beautiful. I have not been out in quite awhile, so I do enjoy your images. And frankly, I don’t think we see those here. Well, I know I never do.
It makes me hungry too. Yum!
Would you please add me to your pinglist good sir :)
Your pictures are incredibly beautiful SS, *even if they didn’t capture a part of the country that is so close to our hearts ; )
May God continue to bless you, so you can keep blessing us :):):)
Tatt
Done
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