Phil and I decided to go for an early hike the other day and then do a little bird watching. Rock Harbor is one of our favorite places as it seems to attract a lot of shore birds and diving birds. (Click blog link for photo of female.)
There, swimming around the harbor, were a male and a female Red-breasted Merganser. They were just beautiful. I love their long, thin red bill and and red eyes. Have you ever seen one?
The first photograph is of the male and the 2nd of the female. They look so different in their coloring. We always joke that the male looks like he’s having a “bad hair day.”
Indeed! A very stylish hairdo in the male for sure.
Absolutely gorgeous birds. Always a special treat to see them swimming along.
Thanks, Mel!
And they’re speedy! Hence the windswept ‘do? 🙂
Speed record[edit]
The fastest duck ever recorded was a red-breasted merganser that attained a top airspeed of 100 mph while being pursued by an airplane. This eclipsed the previous speed record held by a canvasback clocked at 72 mph.[6]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-breasted_merganser
Wow!! That is so cool! Thank you.