Late this morning at Upper Valley Land Trust's Zebedee Wetland, a pair of Hooded Mergansers hanging around (the leaning) nest box, female in and out several times - she'd hop out and swim around with him a little while, then in again for a minute - male repeatedly chasing away another lone female.  Sometimes the couple advanced on her together.  Male would hunch his neck between his shoulders and swim very fast until, with croaking cries, the interloper would flap away maybe 20 yards, then turn and slowly try to slip up on them again.  Interesting to observe the flared, then relaxed crest action.  This went on at least 45 minutes.  Suddenly, the lone female lifted off full-speed in direction of nest box and all 3 flew away over the marsh.

 

 And a pair of Canada Geese still nesting there surprisingly close to the gate.  Hard to tell whether nest is on a rock or stump.  She had herself so flat-wrapped around it, you'd think she was dead but I knew better, having observed her, head-under-wing, from a distance; her guard gander skulking-feeding among the reeds nowhere near...

 

(Thetford Conservation Commission recently bought a replacement nest box (another is underwater) but we haven't managed to install it yet).

 

Connie Snyder