Hooded Mergansers, Coots and…Pirates?
The recent warm spell has started to melt the ice in ponds. This morning I spotted a Male Hooded Merganser feeding in the cattails of a small pond. He flew off however, after I started taking pictures. Waterfowl are not always comfortable when long shot-gun like objects are raised in their direction.
Hooded Merganser male
Hooded Merganser Male
Snow patches leave interesting reflections in the lake, especially when the water is calm. Sometimes, it seems the whole world is duplicated in the lake – upside down – but identical to the world on the surface. I wonder if fish get such a vista?
Snowy Patch Reflection
American Coots commandeering a submerged shopping cart
I stopped at the waterfront and watched some coots squabbling over the best perch on a submerged shopping cart. They could have been on a pirate crew – a ship like the listing pirate ship on Nelson’s waterfront. Perhaps some hearty crew will raise the “Obsidian” so that she can grace the waterfront again. At the moment though, she is attracting a lot of attraction just the way she is.
American Coot face on
Nelson’s infamous pirate ship, the “Obsidean” in better days
Nelson’s listing pirate ship the “Obsidian”
photos and writing copyright J.A. Siderius 2013
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