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| FEATURED LONG ISLAND BIRDS: by Karen Photos by Cal Vornberger (copyright Cal Vornberger) |
| WHAT A BIRD !! (Lophodytes cucullatus) Mergansers are often called "sawbills" due to their serrated bills, and are our only ducks that specialize in eating fish. The Hooded Meganser is the smallest of our native mergansers. When looking for a Hooded Merganser (affectionately nicknamed "Hoodie"), look for a small merganser with a white "fanlike" crest surrounded by black. This fanlike crest can be raised and lowered during different displays, and when folded makes the head of the merganser look "puffy". The yellow eyes are striking and it has a black back and light brown sides. The female is drabber in coloration than the drake and has brown eyes. She also sports a crest, but of reddish brown feathers. (The non- breeding males also have this coloration). When displaying for the female the drake will use what is called a "head throw". He will swim beside a female, raise his crest and throw his head back until it reaches his back. He then raises his head forward and vocalizes his "frog like" call. It's quite a striking display! |
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| HOODED MERGANSER |
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| Hooded mergansers nest in tree cavities almost always near fresh water. The female builds and lines the nest with down, leaves and plant matter. The female also incubates the eggs for 32 to 33 days with a clutch size of 8 to 12 white eggs. The young are precocial, are tended to and fed by the female, and can fly after about 71 days. As one can see the female is one busy bird. Although Hooded Mergansers feed mostly on fish, they will also eat insects, crustaceans and mollusks. They are diving ducks and will swim underwater propelled by their feet. They have good underwater vision and usually find food by sight. The birds are known to be very fast flyers and are the only merganser indigenous to North America. Populations were declining in the past but are currently rebounding, in large part to artificial nest boxes. for more info on Hooded Mergansers - click |
| HORNED GREBE |
| WHAT A BIRD!! (PODICEPS AURITUS) Grebes, often compared to Loons due to their skilled ability in diving, are widespread around the globe. They cannot take flight from land, only water, and if forced to land away from water are stranded unless rescued by humans. In the water they can alter their buoyancy to either dive rapidly or sink gradually. The size of the Horned Grebe, 12-15 inches (30-38cm.) is not in proportion to the interest its life generates among birders. It begins life breaking out of a bluish white egg with a beige stain in a nest that has been built of floating vegetation attached to underwater plants somewhere in a fresh water lake or marsh in Alaska & Northern Canada. It may have 4 to 7 siblings and can swim immediately upon emerging from the egg, but frequently will ride on the back of its' parents. An interesting behavior of Grebes is to eat their own feathers (the young will eat the parents' feathers), presumably to line the stomach so the bones, and shells, of prey it consumes will not pass into the intestines. |
| The parents are quite handsome in their breeding plumage. A slender chestnut colored neck & flank, a dark back with golden feathered "horns" above and behind the eyes, and a bill that is short and straight. Their feet are placed well back on the body and the birds are seldom seen on land. Horned Grebes have quite a wonderful courtship display, called "rushing", where both birds rise out of the water side by side and glide across the water. They will also exchange weeds and do a lot of head shaking. After the young are grown they, and the adults, migrate to salt water where they spend the winter. Their winter plumage is a white chin and neck and dark upper parts. They eat mainly aquatic insects, mollusks, and crustaceans. Horned grebes can be seen in L.I. waters all winter. Sometimes, if one is lucky in late February or early March, a bird going into breeding plumage can be seen. Populations of Horned Grebes are thought to be decliing due to habitat loss. However, recent changes in winter ranges show an increased use of man-made resevoirs. for more info on Horned Grebe - click |
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| Male Hooded Merganser eating fish |
| Horned Grebe - breeding plumage |
| Female Hooded Merganser |
| Horned Grebe - winter plumage |