I spotted some ducks on the river as my granddaughter and I drove along. By the time we parked and walked back to the bridge, these hooded mergansers were high-tailing it out of there, clearly not anxious to chat with a 3 yr old!
This pic stretched my little camera to the limits. I don't see these often so I'm including it in the collection to mark a nice morning and a cool siting!
Here's an excerpt from Cornell Lab of Ornithology if you're interested: "Hooded Mergansers find their prey underwater by sight. They can actually change the refractive properties of their eyes to improve their underwater vision. In addition, they have an extra eyelid, called a “nictitating membrane,” which is transparent and helps protect the eye during swimming, like a pair of goggles."
