Rare Ducks Were VIPs in the St. John Christmas Bird Count

At Francis Bay, we were thrilled to spot a group of four Hooded Mergansers diving for fish in the deepest part of the pond. I had never seen one before.

Laurel Brannick recognized them by their fuzzy, back-combed crests. An adult male in breeding plumage has an unmistakable black and white hood. Since these were cinnamon colored, I thought they were probably females, though it is possible they were immature males. I didn’t get any close-up pictures then but then later found one posing nicely at the edge of the pond at Frank Bay. They might have moved over there because the Francis Bay pond has been getting a bit shallower as the weather becomes drier.

The Hooded Mergansers normally breed in the northern part of the U.S. and Canada, and then in the winter head down to the southeast states. It is quite unusual for them to come into the Caribbean, so these are real adventurers. But not the first to come. There was one recorded on St. John in 2008, and one on St. Croix in 2004.