Woodies and Hoodies seem to be abundant along the Connecticut River in the Upper Valley these days. Especially Hooded Mergansers, but there are certainly Wood Ducks too.
One of my favorite spots in spring is near the mouth of Grant Brook in Lyme. However, because River Road remains closed, visiting this spot means looping back into Hanover before heading farther north. Still it is a fairly reliable spot for wood ducks, like this single pair I found Tuesday. So it is definitely worth the effort to get there.
According to the metadata in my images, I photographed the pair for around 4 minutes before they launched. It seemed like a much longer time. Here is a 4-photo “slide show” of the female initiating their departure. (Why do we still use “slide show” in the digital era?)
A bit earlier along River Road I found some Hooded Mergansers in the Connecticut River.
All the photos along River Road were shot out of my car window. Cars sometimes make a nice blind, especially for species very cautious of humans.
Over on the Vermont side I photographed a nice Hooded Merganser drifting peacefully in the Pompy. This was taken looking west from Old Bridge Road with the duck nicely front-lit by the morning sun. This is the only photo in this blog where I got out of my car and used a tripod.
At Kendall Station a pair of Hoodies were much closer, but mostly back-lit. I judged I did not have time to set up a tripod, but since they were on the opposite side of my car I was able to quietly exit my car and brace my long lens with my elbows on the hood.
I was able to get quite a few photos in rapid succession before the female launched, leaving behind a line of splashes where she ran on the water. I missed her but caught the male as he followed.
