And the ducks come.

The Hooded Mergansers are here for the winter so the Bay has another touch of beauty added to it.  I always love the Hoodies just because they are so different from the other ducks that visit the area in late fall.  To start, they are a small duck.  An adult Hoodie will weigh in at just about a one and a half pounds.  That is not a lot of duck!  What they lack in size, they make up in appearance.  Their striking hood sets them apart from most others.  The males have a large white crest edged in black and their black and white bodies are set off by cinnamon-colored sides.  Their rumps and tails are brown.  The female has a rusty red crest and are mostly brownish-grey.  It is those crests that garner the most attention, though.  When the crest is extended the bird practically demands attention!

These ducks nest in tree cavities that are sometimes fifty to seventy-five feet above the ground. It is there that the female will lay a dozen or so roundish, white eggs, although, she might incubate twice that many!  Other Hooded Merganser females are not above laying their eggs in another duck's nest!  As soon as the mother duck starts to incubate the eggs, the male abandons her.  It is entirely up to her to protect the nest and raise the little ones.  Once the eggs hatch, the ducklings will plummet themselves to the ground when they are the ripe old age of one day!  They will flutter to the ground to follow their mother to the water.  Here they are able to dive and catch prey granted their first attempts are quite comical.  The little ones' efforts pay off in the end and by the second day they are diving with the best of the other ducks.  The mother duck will stay with her little ones until they can fully fend for themselves.

I do like these little ducks and I am always excited to see the number of them increase with each year.  By early winter, the Bayou should be home to nigh on a hundred of the Hoodies.  Ms. Ez, the dog, and I will have plenty of entertainment as we wait for the sunrise each morning!