[carol gbh]

Folks,

I had a great day shooting pix yesterday at the Elkhorn Slough in CA. Here's a couple pictures and if I can't attach them (new here), you can see them at:

http://www.monterey-bay.net/~birds/D...2012-13-05.htm

Just scroll down.

Carol in California

Bird by intuition

[cavan wood]

Ahh, very nice. I just saw a pair on Lake Ontario near Toronto a few days ago. Unfortunately I was not so close to see all the details in your photos. Lovely bird.

Scott

[carol gbh]

Originally Posted by cavan wood

Ahh, very nice. I just saw a pair on Lake Ontario near Toronto a few days ago. Unfortunately I was not so close to see all the details in your photos. Lovely bird.

Scott

Thanks Scott. They really are beautiful. We also have Hooded Mergansers around here but boy are they shy. As soon as you set up your equipment they hustle off into the reeds. Also they are predominantly fresh water ducks and not nearly as common as the RB. I was just watching (again) David Attenborough's Life Of Birds and was surprised to see that something like 80% of all the Barrow's Goldeneyes breed in BC, Canada! I know you're on the other side of Canada but you guys have some real gems up there.

Carol in CA

bird by intuition (which means be a damn good guesser)

[Chris Oates]

Originally Posted by carol gbh

I was just watching (again) David Attenborough's Life Of Birds

I hope they make him King of England soon as he's not so young now - wonderful man who's calm old school (but enthusiastic) approach takes you on fantastic journeys....rather than beating you about the head with snakes, blatantly inventing "dangerous moments" and tormenting creatures as the new wave presenters do.

We had a pair of RB Megansers visit for a few days at the local reserve - they were so 'punk' looking.... but really upset the Little egrets who chased them around.

[Woodchatshrike]

You cannot knock RB mergs! They are a great sawbill. Their display is fantastic.

[cavan wood]

Originally Posted by carol gbh

Thanks Scott. They really are beautiful. We also have Hooded Mergansers around here but boy are they shy. As soon as you set up your equipment they hustle off into the reeds. Also they are predominantly fresh water ducks and not nearly as common as the RB. I was just watching (again) David Attenborough's Life Of Birds and was surprised to see that something like 80% of all the Barrow's Goldeneyes breed in BC, Canada! I know you're on the other side of Canada but you guys have some real gems up there.

Carol in CA

bird by intuition (which means be a damn good guesser)

I've seen hooded merganser in the creek beside my yard (and I think they actually nested just downstream a bit) and I've seen the common goldeneye locally, and I've even been to BC a couple of times, but alas, I've never seen a Barrow's Goldeneye. My favorite is the wood duck though, which also visits my creek in the spring.

Scott

[snowyowl]

We get all three species of mergs here. Yesterday I took pictures of a male and several female Commons on the river behind my place. There were are lots of C. Mergs hanging out back there. I'm not sure yet if the pictures are any good. I'll be checking them if I ever stop reading BF.
Barrow's are here on a regular basis and are usually not too hard to find. Here's a link to a picture of group from My Gallery..
http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/...cat/500/page/4

[snowyowl]

Here are some shots of female C. Mergs from yesterday. Not great pics but the best of a bad lot.

[carol gbh]

Those are great shots of Barrow's GE Dan. You lucky dog.

Carol in CA

[adampaul]

We were lucky enough to get fairly close to Hooded Mergs (the first (and so far only) I've seen so far) the other weekend at Lagunitas Lake in Marin County, CA - lovely birds, them mergansers! Saw several commons (one, my first drake) in the same lake, but I've only ever seen two female RB's, and no drakes, in the Bay Area, though.

Those mergansers sure look cold in your neck of the woods, Dan!

Rgds,
_Adam

[snowyowl]

Originally Posted by adampaul

We were lucky enough to get fairly close to Hooded Mergs (the first (and so far only) I've seen so far) the other weekend at Lagunitas Lake in Marin County, CA - lovely birds, them mergansers! Saw several commons (one, my first drake) in the same lake, but I've only ever seen two female RB's, and no drakes, in the Bay Area, though.

Those mergansers sure look cold in your neck of the woods, Dan!

Rgds,
_Adam

Good work. I'm still trying to get good Hooded shots.

[carol gbh]

Originally Posted by snowyowl

Good work. I'm still trying to get good Hooded shots.

************

I LOVE Hooded Mergansers - the drake is spectacular. Good shots Dan. Up in Marin? Do you ever go to the Marin Headlands or Golden Gate Raptor Observatory - they have a great website.