A merganser crèche
This momma common merganser and her babies swam across the lake just before sunset the other night. I thought she would angle away when they got close to me. Instead, the crèche came right along the water’s edge in front of me. The babies jostled for a place on mom’s back while she briskly paddled past.
Near this same spot, a loon had favoured me with a evening show a couple of days before. The lake is always beautiful and I’m appreciating the wildlife enjoying it so far this summer.
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Anything but common
A great variety of wildlife shares the Khutzeymateen Inlet with the Grizzly Bears. With coastal wolves and orcas being more elusive during my trip, any disappointment vanished in the face of the diversity of birds on hand or around just about any corner. Several types of gulls would congregate at the mouth of creeks where bears were catching fish upstream. The loose bits floating down drew them in for an easy meal. Eagles, both Bald and Golden, surveyed the waters from perches in the towering cedars lining the bays.
One bird which consistently captured my attention was the Common Merganser (Mergus merganser). They gathered in small flushes on open water and in the wide estuary at the end of the inlet.
When they take flight, they step along the water once they get airborne and remain low with their wingtips occasionally dipping into the water as they fly along.
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This activity was great fun to watch and photograph while waiting for some of the more celebrated wildlife to visit. I didn’t mind the waiting at all.
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