March 5. With morning birdsong becoming noticeable the past couple
weeks, I?ve been opening the kitchen window slightly at the start of
each day, to more fully hear the outside world. A large splash just
after dawn, and I expect the mallard pair that has been visiting the
pond in recent days has returned once again. However, I?m quite
surprised to see a pair of Hooded Mergansers paddling along the water?s
edge. I crouch low at the kitchen counter, watching these wary
newcomers. The pond is twenty feet away and ten feet below the window,
and with a pair of 8X binoculars, I see all clearly. What beautiful
birds. Almost immediately they begin to dive, apparently aware of the
4 to 6 inch rainbow trout that were recently introduced into this small
ornamental pond (16 feet wide, 42 feet long, 6 feet deep).
The female comes up with a fish first, and is immediately set upon by
her (presumed) mate. Ordinarily this small pond sits calm and quiet,
mirror-like, during a windless morning. Now, it reminds me of a
swimming pool full of my rowdy nephews. Frantically the female
merganser races back and forth, with the male in hot pursuit, intent on
the fish she carries. Within moments, she somehow manages to swallow
the fish, which was noticeably longer than her head. Realizing that
this one fish is now beyond his grasp, the male resumes diving. The
female on the other hand paddles lazily about, occasionally dipping her
bill for a drink. The male continues to dive, and within several
minutes comes up with another small rainbow trout. Unmolested by the
female, the male takes his time with his catch, flipping it around
again and again, until finally he gets it positioned just so, and down
it goes. He too then reacts as did the female, and soon both ducks
cease nearly all activity, as they float together, near the center of
the pond.
Within ten to fifteen minutes, the fish, which normally would be
feeding at this time of day, apparently either grew accustomed to, or
became unaware of the predators, and started to hit the surface of the
pond again in their usual feeding behavior. At first the ducks seem
uninterested, but after some time, perhaps another fifteen minutes, as
if someone had thrown a switch, they simultaneously dive. Repeatedly
they dive and surface, near each other, and nearly at the same time.
During the first three times down, they were obviously cueing on each
other, for their dives seemed to occur at nearly the same instant.
Hard to tell which was leading. The female scored first again, but
the male paid no attention to her catch this time. Shortly the male
came up with a goldfish (that was errantly introduced into the pond
last summer), and the show began. He apparently was auditioning for
some juggling act as he worked this shiny goldfish back and forth and
to and fro in his bill, parading around the edge of the pond with it
like a runner carrying a flag doing a victory lap around a stadium.
Hard to tell which, but eventually he released it or it got away.
Maybe the taste and texture of goldfish is not what he was expecting.
The male dove again and soon came up with a trout, and quickly
swallowed it. He then joined the female, who by this time had ceased
nearly all activity and was floating nearby, preening and scratching a
bit.
The ducks reacted to their second helpings of trout as if the fish
were sleeping pills. Within a few minutes, they ceased activity
almost entirely, floating motionless. The female continued to take an
occasional drink, but I never saw the male dip his bill. There was
not even the hint of a breeze, and eventually the pond went flat, and
again mirrored the trees and sky, holding these totally motionless
mergansers. They floated like a set of decoys (a memory from my
waterfowl and shotgun days decades ago). The female soon tucked into
her wing and assumed a sleeping posture, and the male followed her
example shortly afterward.
After one hour, I had to leave for work, and as I quietly stepped out
onto the porch, they both raised their heads. The female fanned her
crest and became quite agitated, swimming back and forth along the far
shore, quacking nervously. The male followed her. I moved very slowly
and quietly to my truck, and was very surprised the birds did not flush
as I went by. The show ended when I hit the ignition switch and
started the pickup. Instantly both ducks exploded off the water and
flew through the trees to the south.
March 6. They were on the pond again this morning, but I never saw
them catch more fish. They did not stay long, flushing for no
apparent reason.
March 9. A pair of Hooded Mergansers on the pond again this morning
at first light (presumably the same birds). They caught and ate six
fish, three each. Today the female came up with a goldfish and let it
go. She obviously released it, it was not an escape. Otherwise, much
the same behavior as before, except this time the male was doing some
head pumping, fanning his crest, and the pair engaged in two
copulations.
If you live in a location where you have the ability to create a pond
I highly recommend it. Simply dig a big hole, line it if necessary,
and divert some or all of the runoff from your roof into it. Throw in
some dead leaves, and float a few pieces of deadwood. Add some rainbow
trout fingerlings, and sit back and watch. Seemingly out of nowhere, a
variety of aquatic organisms will appear; insects, frogs, birds. If
you build it, they will come.

Stan Kostka

Arlington WA


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