The Red-breasted Mergansers were far more active than the Common Eiders we saw. They were constantly diving for food, but they also seemed to be showing a lot of aggression towards the Eiders - without any obvious provocation.
This merganser was really making himself appear large and intimidating.
For the most part, the Common Eiders just watched dispassionately. They appeared unimpressed.
One eider finally reacted, showing himself to be larger and stronger looking than the merganser who started it all.
In this shot, it looks like he's dancing a ballet!
Hi Susan, I haven't observed Eiders or Mergansers. This was a very interesting post for me. Thank you for explaining their behavior with the addition of photos :-)
ReplyDeleteThat's so funny! "I am impressive!"
ReplyDeleteWe have Common Mergansers in Utah. They're too shy, though, I can never get great shots. The closest I ever got was in the rain and the light was so bad that my light greedy camera took blurry pictures, argh!
Hi Susan. Super behaviour shots. I watched a Tufted Duck doing a similar water dance recently. Great to see you are getting out and about again. Fully recovered?
ReplyDelete