Posted by
gregdodge
2 Comments

The Past Few Weeks with Mergansers

Photos of the mergs in the Wetlands…

Two pair of mergs steam across the Wetlands.
It’s time to strut.
crraaa-crrrooooo.
Another male joins the dancing duo.
.
.
.
Two females.
That looks to be a young male (front left).
Stop and rest.
This male (same as above, seen here resting with four females), doesn’t participate in any of the pair-bond displays.

Is this the young male from January, or is it another young male that has yet to complete its molt?

The three females move on.

And so do I.

2 responses to The Past Few Weeks with Mergansers

  1. Leslie says:

    The ladies don’t seem very impressed. When would they lay their eggs?

    • Greg Dodge says:
      Author

      Not sure, but I think that a lot of the strutting during the pair-bond displays, at least at this time, may be for the benefit of the males. When the males start doing the copulatory displays the females will be paying very close attention, for sure.
      If they’re going to nest here at the Museum, I would expect to see egg laying in late February or early March.
      We’ll see what happens.
      Thanks,

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