Hooded Mergansers at Fairview Park

If you drive along Fairview Park or Jaguar Trail and see the various ponds in the area you may see birds that are not Canada Geese on the water. These smaller waterfowl are most likely male and female Hooded Mergansers. They are small ducks with slender upward curving bills. The male has a bold black and white crest; the female has a crest that looks like a messy hair-do. Recently we saw a pair swimming in the pond on Fairview Park near the Marriott. The male raised his crest as we approached the edge of the pond. We stopped our approach and the crest was lowered. These are wonderful binds. Some find a place to breed here in eastern Virginia, and some continue migrating farther north.