Well, I couldn't help myself....a few more sea ducks....

Keith Mueller

Keith Mueller

Active member
Because I have received many emails and pms from those who are landlocked and can't get to either coast and love seeing sea ducks....let me bring a few more coastal images to you for you to enjoy!

a spectacular hen eider in all her glory....

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the very fast flying hen red breasted merganser......

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a pair of courting drakes. The drake on the left is the dominant one. Notice the larger and swollen lobes of the frontal process of the bill. The color is a deeper orange (meaning a bit more testosterone) where the drake on the right (challenger) is making vane and failed attempts at his courtship display. The doiminant one just chased him off, and kept all three hens to himself.....

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another challenger.....

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He tried, but didn't succeed.....

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another flock of Halies.....


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spending a beautiful afternoon in a quiet out of the wind cove, and preened the afternoon away.

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this drake harlequin was very aggressive. He chased everything away form his area: from other harlequin drakes (and sometimes hens), eiders. mergansers, scoters, a razorbill, a gull or two and even a loon!


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my favorite "other name" for Harlequins is "Little Blue Sea Mice".....that one would appear to be better named."little Blue RABID RAT"......

Great shot....

Steve
 
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up from a dive right into a cresting wave.....

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The drake on the right in the company of the two common eider juveniles (Atlantic ssp.) is an adult drake Northern edier (ssp.- S. m. borealis). Iti s one of the 7 subspecies of the common eider. It breeds in NorthEast Canada north of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is a rare visitor to New England, and I have only collected 5 in all my years of sea duck hunting (which I find curious since I have shot more than three times as many king eiders in New England-which are considered rmore rare). Four were taken in Rhode Island, and one off Cape Cod. Usually they are seen much later in the season, and this drake was photographed a month ago in Rhode Island. The best way to ID them is by their slightly smaller size, the green cheek is lighter in color, the black "supracillium stripe" is smaller and appears straighter across sthe head profile, and most importantly, the lobes of the frontal process of the bill are smaller and shorter than the Atlantic. If anyone is hunting eiders in New England especially later in the season, I would suggest looking through the birds you shot.....you might just have a S. m. borealis in your bag.

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I walked up on these rafting common scoters.....

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and of course no Southern New England coastal sea bird trip wouldn't be complete without a flock of brant......


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Holly smoke Keith, They are amazing feel like I can touch those Eiders. Just wish , as I have said before,That you would get a proper!! Job, your not helping the rest of us when we are stuck at work in a hot hospital or factory etc etc..Its hard enough with out knowing you are out in those fab settings............:-)

Keep them coming, Paul
 
Great shots Keith!
How many hard drives have you filled with wonderful pictures?

Although I love our northern birds, capercaille, black grouse and ptarmigan, oh...hazelhens too.....waterfowl make my heart beat a little faster. Keep posting pictures!

Stefan
 
Great pictures Keith,I can not wait till I can get there and take some more pictures.That flying Merganser has me thinking...hmm...
 
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