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GOT MY DUCKS IN A ROW
self | Jan 26,2012 | swampsniper

Posted on 01/26/2012 1:57:01 PM PST by SWAMPSNIPER

I got out for a while yesterday, a nice sunny day. I was riding with a friend who just isn't in to lurking around mud holes so I really couldn't get serious.

I got these pretty little Hooded Mergansers moving down a pond.

Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus


TOPICS: Arts/Photography; Chit/Chat; Outdoors
KEYWORDS: duck; photo
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To: SWAMPSNIPER

So beautiful—thank you very much!


21 posted on 01/26/2012 3:34:34 PM PST by Silentgypsy (If this creature is not stopped it could make its way to Novosibirsk!)
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To: SWAMPSNIPER

Awesome!


22 posted on 01/26/2012 3:51:51 PM PST by stylecouncilor (Some minds are like soup in a poor restaurant...better left unstirred.-PG Wodehouse)
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To: SWAMPSNIPER
Pretty ducks.

Northern Shovelers have shorter lines in Texas:

I took this photo with a two-power teleconverter and a 100-400mm lens set at 400mm. The teleconverter made it necessary to focus by hand. It is hard to get that focus just right, so I was experimenting with setting my f stop high, so that I would have a larger area in focus. At the same time, since this photo was effectively taken at a focal length of 1280mm (1.6 from the camera times 400mm times 2), I wanted a fast shutter speed to stop movement and camera shake. I set my f stop at 20 and my ISO at 2500. This resulted in a shutter speed of 1/3200ths of a second. This met the rule of thumb that you should have a shutter speed at least as fast as 1 over your effective focal length (1280 in my case).

23 posted on 01/26/2012 4:04:20 PM PST by rustbucket
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To: SWAMPSNIPER; Mr. Silverback; cripplecreek; NoLibZone; Lucky9teen; Pete; bicyclerepair; apillar; ...

Pinging the Agenda 21 folks! Here’s how I prefer to think of wildlife!

Thanks for the wonderful pictures Swampsniper! Thank you for the respite you provide!

FYI, in the past several days we have learned that the new Global Warming replacement scam seems to have to do with efforts to “protect wildlife.”

If you want to be on or off the Agenda 21 ping list, please notify me by Freepmail. It is a relatively low volume list in which we have been exploring the UN Agenda21 and related topics. We have collected our studies with threads, links, and discussions on the Agenda 21 thread which can be found here:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2738418/posts


24 posted on 01/26/2012 4:12:14 PM PST by TEXOKIE (... and HAPPY NEW YEAR to all FREEPERS EVERYWHERE!)
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To: SWAMPSNIPER

Your photos are such a pleasure to look at. Thanks for the ping.


25 posted on 01/26/2012 6:33:49 PM PST by Just A Reader
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To: SWAMPSNIPER

Photo Bump..


26 posted on 01/26/2012 6:36:29 PM PST by tubebender (I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.)
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To: SWAMPSNIPER

Photo Bump..


27 posted on 01/26/2012 6:36:39 PM PST by tubebender (I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.)
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To: SWAMPSNIPER

Lovely! Thank You!


28 posted on 01/26/2012 6:43:35 PM PST by left that other site
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To: SWAMPSNIPER

We just had a pair show up in the pond behind our house. We were not sure what they were. Thanks for clearing that up.


29 posted on 01/26/2012 7:42:17 PM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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To: TEXOKIE

Very sweet picture...thanks for the ping


30 posted on 01/26/2012 7:44:29 PM PST by DLfromthedesert
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To: DLfromthedesert

:-) Swampsniper is the Bomb!


31 posted on 01/26/2012 8:28:04 PM PST by TEXOKIE (... and HAPPY NEW YEAR to all FREEPERS EVERYWHERE!)
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To: SWAMPSNIPER

Excellent as always.


32 posted on 01/26/2012 8:42:04 PM PST by Islander7 (There is no septic system so vile, so filthy, the left won't drink from to further their agenda)
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To: TEXOKIE

Thanks for the ping!


33 posted on 01/26/2012 8:53:44 PM PST by Alamo-Girl
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To: SWAMPSNIPER
Just ducky! We don't see them too often here, but when you do, it's a big treat! So glad you captured them for us! Here's a cute bird challenge:

Take the quiz below to determine how much you know about the Hooded Merganser. Scroll past the pictures for the answers.

1. True or False: The hooded merganser is the largest of the mergansers and the only one of the three species found only on North America.

2. How does the hooded merganser find food?
a. By sight, spotting its prey then diving underwater to grab lunch.
b. By touch, using its feet to grab small fish.
c. By smell, sniffing out its next meal.
d. By taste, using clues from its current meal to determine where, for example, a school of fish lives.

3. Where does the species nest?
a. On the beach.
b. In reeds.
c. In rock beds.
d. In tree cavities.

4. True or False: The hooded merganser and the Canada goose are in the same family.

5. What does it mean when a male flashes his hood?
a. Anger
b. Part of a courtship ritual
c. Territorial behavior
d. None of the aboveScroll past the picture for the answers.

Hooded Mergansers breed in swamps or wooded ponds in the northern U.S. or southern Canada. They are cavity nesters, like Wood Ducks, and will use provided boxes if suitable natural cavities are unavailable. Nestlings leave the cavity just one day after hatching.

2. How does the hooded merganser find food?
a. By sight, spotting its prey then diving underwater to grab lunch.
b. By touch, using its feet to grab small fish.
c. By smell, sniffing out its next meal.
d. By taste, using clues from its current meal to determine where, for example, a school of fish lives.

3. Where does the species nest?
a. On the beach.
b. In reeds.
c. In rock beds.
d. In tree cavities.

4. True or False: The hooded merganser and the Canada goose are in the same family.

5. What does it mean when a male flashes his hood?
a. Anger
b. Part of a courtship ritual
c. Territorial behavior
d. None of the above

*Answers* are below the pictures

Swampsniper's Mergansers are *before*...this is *after*

Female Hooded Merganser & chicks-2 by Hikerboy45

Little lost duckling by tsmzth

Larry, Moe, Curly, Shemp by A. Drauglis Furnituremaker

Young hoods by A. Drauglis Furnituremaker

Hooded Merganser (female) w/ Ducklings by ~melanie~">

Hooded Merganser 1st spring males by Lee Rentz

1. True or False: The hooded merganser is the largest of the mergansers and the only one of the three species found only on North America.
False. While the hooded merganser is the only of the three species restricted to the continent, according to Birds of North America online, it’s actually the smallest, weighing in at a max of just under 2 pounds.

2. How does the hooded merganser find food?
A, By sight,
spotting its prey then diving underwater to grab lunch. According to Cornell’s All about Birds: “The merganser can actually change the refractive properties of its eyes to enhance its underwater vision. In addition, the nictitating membrane (third eyelid) is very transparent and probably acts to protect the eye during swimming, just like a pair of goggles.” Cool!

3. Where does the species nest?
D, in tree cavities. They will also nest in downy-lined nest boxes. The female sets up shop, scouting for an appropriate cavity the summer before a pair attempts to breed. Clutch size ranges from 5 eggs to as many as 44 (Birds of North America online).

4. True or False: The hooded merganser and the Canada goose are in the same family.
True. They both fall into the Ducks, Geese, and Swans category of the Anatidae family. The wood duck, gadwall, and 40 other species fall into this group, too.

5. What does it mean when a male flashes his hood?
B, courtship.
A common use of the crest is what Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park calls the head throw. “A male raises his crest and swims parallel to a female. He throws his head back sharply until it touches his back and then brings it forward slowly while emitting a rolling frog-like croak.” What a way to wow the ladies.
_________________________________________
I love learning! I love Swampsniper's birds! Hope you did too!

34 posted on 01/26/2012 10:38:17 PM PST by Daffynition (When I was a chiId was told that anybody could become President; I'm beginning to believe it)
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To: Daffynition
Great post, Daffynition. And great photos too!

And I got an A on your test. Do I get a gold star? Ha ha!

35 posted on 01/27/2012 10:00:49 AM PST by Flycatcher (God speaks to us, through the supernal lightness of birds, in a special type of poetry.)
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To: Flycatcher
I'm awarding *one* single french fry for a perfect score....hope that will make you happy. ;D


36 posted on 01/27/2012 10:40:52 AM PST by Daffynition (When I was a chiId was told that anybody could become President; I'm beginning to believe it)
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To: SWAMPSNIPER

Oh gosh those are beautiful. I have not been out in quite awhile, so I do enjoy your images. And frankly, I don’t think we see those here. Well, I know I never do.


37 posted on 01/27/2012 11:52:53 AM PST by brytlea (An ounce of chocolate is worth a pound of cure)
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To: Daffynition

It makes me hungry too. Yum!


38 posted on 01/27/2012 12:01:22 PM PST by Flycatcher (God speaks to us, through the supernal lightness of birds, in a special type of poetry.)
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To: SWAMPSNIPER

Would you please add me to your pinglist good sir :)

Your pictures are incredibly beautiful SS, *even if they didn’t capture a part of the country that is so close to our hearts ; )

May God continue to bless you, so you can keep blessing us :):):)
Tatt


39 posted on 01/27/2012 12:02:53 PM PST by thesearethetimes... ("Courage, is fear that has said its prayers." Dorothy Bernard)
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To: thesearethetimes...

Done


40 posted on 01/27/2012 12:27:11 PM PST by SWAMPSNIPER (The Second Amendment, a Matter of Fact, Not a Matter of Opinion)
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