Late yesterday afternoon we finally had another break in our aggravating and incredibly persistent cloud cover so I made a spontaneous and quick Christmas Eve trip to a pond in an old oxbow wetland in search of an interesting bird or two.
1/1600, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
I’ve occasionally been seeing this Hooded Merganser at the pond for several weeks now, so it was good to find ‘her’ again because she’s been far from reliable. I’ll refer to her as a female but it’s possible that she’s an immature bird of either sex.
She’s very shy so as soon as I pull up in my pickup her modus operandi is to skedaddle to the far side of the pond, which is what she was doing when I took this shot. This is as close to a broadside view as she gave me while she was making her escape. In this area of the pond she’s always in mediocre filtered light in the late afternoon but I still like the photo, in part because of the interesting patterns and colors reflected on the water.
After I took this photo she turned her back to me again as she fled, so at this point I was resigned to her being too far away for quality photos when she eventually allowed me anything other than butt shots.
But this time something unexpected happened while she was making her getaway.
1/2500, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Before she was too far away she dove and caught a good-sized fish, a weather loach.
Most of the time while she had the fish in her bill she was turned partially away from me, but she was in better light than she’d been earlier. And for a brief moment while she was beating the snot out of the fish she turned broadside to me, which allowed me to get this photo that turned out to be my favorite of the series. I think it’s a pretty good action shot.
Most of the times I’ve seen her on the pond she was actively diving for prey but this was the first time I’d seen her catch anything, fish or otherwise. I was relieved for her because it was getting fairly close to sundown and I’d have hated to think that she’d have to spend the long, cold winter night without a full belly. Especially on Christmas Eve.
Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you had a full belly last night and have another one today. And that your Christmas is a memorable one spent with family and friends.
Ron
Getting so annoyed with my phone email. Doesn’t update correctly missed many of your updated as well as a very important bill. Grrr. This was lovely and calming to see.
I love this photo! I love the punk hair do. The water reflections are dazzling. Makes me want to find a pond somewhere and sit and observe.
Thank you for this Christmas gift.
Thanks very much, Joetta.
The coloration of the Merganzer blends beautifully with the liquid gold of the water reflecting the blue of the sky. Both photos are quite beautiful, Ron. I wonder why this little one has not migrated with the rest of the raft. Thank you for the Christmas treat.
Thanks, Melanie. Winter is when I see Hoodies most often.
Love the shots, love your blog, and wish you the very best in the New Year. We’re okay up here in Ottawa, but my family in Buffalo is having a hard time of it. We’re grateful that everyone is okay. From a faithful reader but infrequent commenter.
Thanks, Burrdoo. Anyone living in Buffalo right now has my sympathies. And best wishes.
Glad she got such a huge loach. I wonder if she is of Italian ancestry, as the Feast of the Seven Fishes is the typical Christmas Eve dinner.
Hoping everyone in the path of the Arctic Freeze is able to stay safe and warm during the holiday. Thank you, Ron, for the best gift of all — this little community. ❤️
“I wonder if she is of Italian ancestry, as the Feast of the Seven Fishes is the typical Christmas Eve dinner”
Marty, whether she’s Italian or not, given the size of this fish I don’t think she had room for six more. 🙂
Merry Christmas Ron, I am glad she cooperated for a few shots! Round one down at our house, round two later this evening at Haley’s and round three tomorrow afternoon with extended family. I will be so round I will roll after three!
Same to you, April. And thanks for the laugh!
These are very pretty images! That fish looks considerably larger than the one your Kingfisher caught, so yes, good for Ms. Merganser to have a very filling Christmas Eve dinner.
Happy to see you in the old mailbox on Christmas morning, Sir Dudley, and glad you finally got a weather break. We’re headed toward 85 today, if anyone is missing gifts under the tree, possibly it’s because Santa decided to hit the beach instead of finishing his deliveries last night. 😉
Thanks, Kris. We were lucky here in Utah in that we were only on the trailing edge of the frigid weather that much of of the rest of the country has been experiencing. So it never did get all that cold here. Cold enough though…
The glassy water interspersed with brown ripples perfectly complements the merganser’s colors. One might think the second photo was a different pond. Light and reflections constantly changing.
One may wonder whether, despite being an invasive species competing with native fish for resources, the loach is a net positive, it being a food source for all the ducks you have documented that consume them.
It’s the first of the twelve days of Christmas and seventh day of Hanukkah. Have a happy one, whichever you are celebrating.
“One might think the second photo was a different pond”
Lyle, being an urban pond there’s lots of variety behind it to throw reflections of different kinds. Many of them aren’t particularly appealing but I got lucky with that one.
I hope they are “net positive”.
Merry Christmas! Love both pictures, the flowing colors in the first and the big fish bashing in the other! Have a great rest of ttt by e year!
Thank you, Beth.
The hooded beauty looks as if she will start Christmas the way many people will finish it – with a very full belly. I am happy for her.
Our Christmas is done and dusted and was peaceful and happy. I hope yours (and all of your readers) is the same.
“I am happy for her.”
So was I, EC. Thanks.
Thanks for the photos Ron. You and the bird both got a good catch. Pretty hefty size fish for that bird that size.
Merry Christmas!
Thank you, Michael.
Merry Christmas to you, too, Ron! Thanks for the Weather Loach link. Nature never ceases to amaze me!
You’re very welcome, Diane.
Got a good Christmas morning laugh out of this! Thanks, Ron.
Good. Thanks, Sallie.
Merry Christmas Happy Holidays Ron, and to all your followers. Love that shot with the fish. In all the years I have photographed these gals and their guys I have never seen one come up from a dive with a fish of any kind.
I don’t see them with prey very often either, Everett. It may be that they usually swallow prey underwater but this fish was just a little too large for that.
Beautiful photos, Ron. I enjoy the first one with the water reflections and the subtle yet beautiful colors. Merry Christmas to you; thank you for your wonderful blog posts and photos.
Thanks very much, Ed.
Pretty pictures. Love the loach. May you have many more lovely photo opportunities of fish and fowl in ‘23!
Thanks, Brett. Loaches are pretty interesting fish.
Best wishes to you, Ron, and all of your posse for a very warm day, both
temperature and feelings-wise, I actually really love shot #1– those water-
wiggles are a great pattern and provide a stunning background for the bird !
“Water-wiggles” – wish I’d thought of that, Kris.
Great shot with the loach! A good sized meal for “her”…… 🙂
41/breezy/slicker ‘n snot at least in the lane – we’ll take the welcome reprieve from the sub-zero weather we’ve been having!
Merry Christmas to all……… 🙂
Thanks, Judy. Daughter Shannon called me from Florida yesterday where she’s visiting. It wasn’t much warmer there than it was here.
Yeh – we have friends who winter in Old Town(northern part of the state) and it’s not nice right now. Neighbors, in theory, fly there today……doesn’t sound like much fun this year….
If you ask me, flying anywhere, anytime, isn’t much fun.
Great shots! Many thanks for including Weather Loach. Wonderful informative reading for an old biologist!
Merry Christmas!!
Here’s to “old biologists”, Dick!
Those are both great shots with the fishing shot even being exciting. I had never seen nor heard of loaches before, not having turned to bird photography, at least on the internet until 2019 and so found your linked story on them fascinating.
Here’s to full bellies, comfortable temperatures and ponds full of life for all in 2023.
“Here’s to full bellies, comfortable temperatures and ponds full of life for all in 2023”
Hear hear, Granny Pat!
Nice action photos. I followed your link to the weather lloach and it was very informative and the predators were captured in good feather.
OOps– My misspelling of the fish reminded me of Dr. Dolittle’s 2-headed llama, Pushmi-Pullyu. I first saw the film back in the late 1960s while studying tropical medicine in Costa Rica. The Spanish name for it was “llamall” (pronounced “ya-my”) a word which resembles the animal itself.
Agree! beautiful photos and good link to info about the weather loach surviving in the mud. Happy Holidays all!
Thanks, Terri.
Thank you, Kenneth. Then I’m glad I provided the link. I almost forgot to.