Twelve-spotted Skimmers
Twelve-spotted Skimmers are classified as “King Skimmers,” all members of which are large and conspicuous, often with distinctive wing patterns. Male Twelve-spotted Skimmers (pictured) have a grayish bloom on their abdomens and each wing has three dark spots with white spots in between them. Females have brown abdomens and no white spots on their wings. All summer you can see males flying back and forth short distances along the shores of ponds and over water, hovering as well as perching. They are territorial and patrol over water, loop-de-looping with competing males. A small number of Twelve-spotted Skimmers occasionally take part in Atlantic Coast migrations.
Hooded Mergansers
A few hooded mergansers, small fish-,insect- and crayfish-eating ducks of wooded ponds, can be found year round in northern New England, but their numbers swell in March and April, when many migrant birds return to breed, and others stop over on their way further north. Standing dead trees, or snags, provide nesting cavities for these beautiful, “hammerhead” crested ducks. (Male hooded merganser on left and female on right in photograph.)
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