A Spectacular Duck: Hooded Mergansers at Lake Washington

I'm sure they've been around in the distance these last few years. They are not rare birds, but for some strange reason I never saw a Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) until late 2017 when I saw a few females in the distance on the Siuslaw River in Oregon. I saw no more until last November and December during my holiday travels, when I made seven separate sightings.

I saw them first on the Siuslaw River in Florence (again), but they were off in the distance and I wasn't able to get much in the way of pictures. But when we arrived in the Seattle area I had a chance to walk along the shores of Lake Washington each morning while we were there. And there was a flock of them that didn't scurry away while I walked past on the walkway. I finally got some half-decent shots.

There is a huge contrast between males and females of the species. The males are the ones with the big white spots behind the eyes. As can be seen, the feathers can be raised to form a very prominent crest. The females are a little more drab, but they can raise their feathers to form a crest the same way.

This was a female Common Merganser hanging out with the others

The Hooded Mergansers are rather famous for having precocious chicks. The ducks nest in hollows in trees up to 50 feet above the ground, and within 24 hours of hatching the chicks jump out of the nest, falling to the forest floor. At that point they gather and follow mom to the nearest body of water.