These eye-catching ducks, decked out with bold stripes and flamboyant head gear, were back on the pond today. They seemed to enjoy swimming beside the just-arrived Canada geese.

The Audubon says:
“Mergansers are our only ducks that specialize in eating fish. The Hooded is the smallest of our three native merganser species, and often seems to be the least numerous, as it tends to live around swamps and wooded ponds where it may be overlooked. A cavity nester along wooded waterways in the temperate parts of North America, it has probably benefitted by taking advantage of nest boxes put out for Wood Ducks.”