Hooded Merganser - Male/Female/Juvenile? Jacksonville, Fl (1 Viewer)

[Newton-W]

Photos taken in Jacksonville, Florida: Shot 1 is from today, 11/11/2019 and shot 2 is from 2/5/2019. Are three of the birds in shot 1 non-breeding males, juveniles, or females? My thought is they are non-breeding males. Same question for shot 2. I originally thought the bird in shot 2 was a female, mainly because it was feeding with a breeding male this past spring. But now, I'm not so sure. There were 7 birds altogether in shot 1, 4 of which looked like the breeding male in the shot.
This is only my second go at Hooded Mergansers.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Newton

 

[stuartelsom]

Shot 1. 3 juveniles and an adult male. Note the fresh plumage and dark iris of the juveniles. Shot 2. Adult female. Note the worn plumage, bushy brown crest and pale iris.

Nice shots!

Stu

 

[Newton-W]

Thanks, stuartelsom! I found examples on The Cornell Lab web site "All About Birds" that show my three juveniles, but just refer to them as "non-breeding male".

 

[stuartelsom]

Hi Newton,

They key thing is the iris. In juveniles they are dark, whereas in a non-breeding male they would be pale, or at least amber, so certainly not dark.

Stu

 

[Newton-W]

Many thanks, Stu. I don't get much of an opportunity to photograph these ducks, and shot one was from my second attempt in four years. I've learned quite a bit in the past 24 hours, so I'll be ready for my next encounter.
Thank you again for the iris tip. I haven't seen that mentioned and my eye for detail sometimes fails me, LOL.

Newton