Air travel has its advantages, even today with all the hoops one must jump through to gain access to this mode of 21st century transportation. Given the distances to far flung destinations, it is in many cases the only realistic option.
Still there are challenges which try the patience of even the most experienced traveler. The screenings, the searches, the carry-on luggage rules and the long lines of sometimes impatient or rude fellow travelers can be trying.
Worse is losing checked luggage or getting separated from a traveling companion during the confusion of an air terminal. The unfamiliar location with the noise and bustling crowd only serves to compound the confusion.
While troublesome for people, the avian population of migratory birds takes the whole task in stride with barely a peep, chirp or quack. Much like travelers on I-75 and the other super highways, heading north in spring is one more in a long series of self-imposed seasonal migrations.
One of panhandle Florida’s winter residents is currently preparing for the long trip north by way of the eastern U.S. flyways. The hooded merganser females are still in residence, but the males will be leaving in a few weeks.
Distinctive with their crested heads, female mergansers will soon be flying north to their summer home.
The hooded merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) is a member of the duck family, with only a single species in its genus. While less than graceful or nimble on its webbed feet, it is a deft swimmer with its legs towards the back of its broad body.
The generic term duck covers many species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes geese and swans. Members of Anatidae are found on all continents and are most typified by their comfort with floating on the surface of water.
The hooded merganser favors small lakes and ponds, especially those surrounded by trees. In winter it is also often found occupying ponds in coastal marshes and this species almost never forms large flocks.
Female mergansers have a distinctive crest on their heads. Their bills are slender and hooked with serrated edges to help them grip their prey and this trait sometime has them referred to as sawbills.
In Florida they are commonly found in north Florida’s coastal areas, but have also become established on lakes and rivers further inland. Mergansers have excellent diving skills and frequently plunge to significant depths in search of food.
Hooded mergansers share many similarities with their red-breasted cousins which were covered here previously. Though primarily fish eaters, they also take the opportunity to vary their diet when chance provides an easy prospect. Aquatic insects, reptiles and all stages of amphibians are on the menu, depending on availability.
These mergansers are equipped to handle a variety of climates and environments, ranging from Canada to the southern U.S. They are extremely tolerant of salt water and have compact plumage with heavy down suitable for the cold regions for the far north.
Hooded mergansers form monogamous pairs for breeding. They remain together until the female has selected a nesting cavity and completed laying her clutch. She is then left alone to care for the brood.
The hatchlings leave the nest in about a day, able to swim and dive for food independently. They remain with their mother for about two months before setting off on their own for good.
One can only guess if the mama mergansers have any sense of the gains and losses which will occur over the course of the next few months, but it is likely they enjoyed their winter in north Florida.
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