The Hooded Merganser - A wild and wondrous winter water fowl!

December 26, 2006 on 2:06 pm | In Bird Alert |

Greetings!
It would be understandable if we Sonoma County residents had come to believe that ducks are tame creatures, eager to waddle up on banks in search of the bread park-goers bring them. Places like Howarth Park in Santa Rosa engender this idea of water fowl, and while it is fun to take a little one to feed the Mallards and geese that live year-round in such places, the truly wild duck elicits quite a different feeling from me. His often brilliant plumage, powerful flight and obvious reserve set him apart from the noisy quackers I delighted in as a child.

This week, my husband and I came upon a pair of Hooded Mergansers at a small pond in the Jack London Estate section of Glen Ellen. This was the first time we had ever seen these birds not in captivity, and we were awed by their colors, their sturdiness, and the obviously strong pair bond between the two birds.

My accompanying sketch shows the splendour of the male Hooded Merganser’s plumage. Not only is the combination of black, white and cinnamon striking, but the fully crested head is most unusual. My sketch shows the crest at half-mast, as it were. But, the Hooded Merganser can raise these crown feathers up into a complete circle, giving his head a rather enormous appearance, and fully displaying the patch of snow white. His wife - a brown and golden fowl - also has this ‘hammerhead’ crest. Side by side, the two of them swam, and I fancied that their world was such a private one, a self-sufficient unit unto themselves.

However, our chance for observation was much limited by the fact of these birds’ wildness. Clearly, they are not at all comfortable around humans, and quiet as we were, they took off once they spotted us, not to return, their wings producing a loud trill as they went. I was sorry to have disturbed their peaceful promenade around the pond.

Further notes on the Hooded Merganser, Lophodytes cucullatus

I wish I had a definite location to share with you for seeing the Hooded Merganser, but he is an uncommon bird, and a winter migrant through our area. You are most likely to see one at a woodland pond. However, I know for a fact that we are unlikely to see this pair again at the pond in Glen Ellen. We monitor this little environment on a weekly basis, and this is the only time we have had the luck to encounter the Hooded Merganser there. No doubt, the birds had merely stopped for a rest and chance to search for the snails, fish and insects they eat before moving on to some more favored spot. A group of 15 very handsome Mallards has been there for the last couple of weeks, but they, too, are shy, very wild birds.

Hooded Mergansers’ voices are described as soft croaking sounds. They nest in cavities in dead trees, and compete with Wood Ducks for homes. They lay 8-12 white eggs. The males apparently dance elaborate courtship dances, but unfortunately we are unlikely to have the chance of ever seeing this in Sonoma County as Hooded Mergansers set about the work of starting a family in other parts of the U.S and Canada.

Nevertheless, a local winter sighting of these birds is a memorable event. Their unusual appearance makes them very easy to identify, and I wish you luck in adding them to your lifelist one day soon!