December 24, 2018

Dueling Mergansers

 On a recent walk through Stanley Park, the winter gloom was lifted quite handily by a small flock of hooded mergansers. A group of six or so males had gathered the attention of a pair of females and were in competition with one another to try and win their attention. Hooded mergansers are some of our favorite ducks so we were very pleased to have this little window into their social lives.
 Hooded mergansers already have a lovely crest (as you can clearly see) which they can raise or lower depending on their needs. In this particular event it was all raised crests all the time as they stretched their necks, growled (more ducks growl than you expect apparently) and chased one another around.
 We don't have a good idea of how elaborate or drawn out their courtship rituals are or whether any of the group were paired up before we left, but who could resist this face?

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