Hooded merganser - an early arrival.

Spring is my favourite season.  Aside from thawing out and plants showing signs of life once again, it is the appearance of birds that I am most thankful for.  Many of them also are showing up with breeding plumage in full regalia.  A prime example of that is the hooded merganser.  

It is mid-February and winter's bite has waned somewhat.  On the west coast, daffodils are blooming and the snow has long disappeared.  Here, in central BC, evidence of change has gone from whispers to mild utterances, the loud din of spring yet to raise its head.  In spite of it still being winter here, certain birds have started to arrive.  A couple of days ago I was out hiking around a small lake.  Although the ice was still covering its surface, a few openings occurred along the shoreline.  That was where I saw the male and his apparent harem.

Mergansers are fish-eating ducks.  They are one of the last birds to migrate south in the fall and one of the first to arrive back in the spring.  The fact that I saw them swimming with only a couple of feet of open water on an ice-covered lake corroberates that.  What I found fascinating is that, when we first saw each other, they responded by diving and swimming out underneath the ice.  I never would have believed it if I had not seen it for myself.

The above photo was taken last year in the spring in Maple Ridge near the west coast of BC.  Rarely does it get cold enough for water bodies of any size to freeze over.  My experience from a few days ago took place where I now live, in Kelowna.  Although winter hasn't relinquished its icy grip yet, its days are numbered.  I am looking forward to the arrival of spring and, with it, the migrants from the south.

Thanks for reading.  www.ericspix.com