HoodedMerganserFemale1

Nikon Z6, Nikkor AF-S 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec, ISO 400, Gitzo tripod, Wimberley head

I moved to a wetlands area on a small lake in the upper portion of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan a couple of years ago. The first full Spring there I realized that Hooded Mergansers, my favorite water bird, congregated at the ingress river as the ice just started to clear there and set up a hide on the shore. It was very cold on my first morning in the hide and I crept into it before sunrise. I settled in and was rewarded with Sandhill Cranes and Trumpeter Swans calling as the morning began. Soon, the hoodies started arriving and I spent a wonderful couple of hours with them, using the silent shutter option to prevent spooking them. A female swam very close and provided a wonderful profile as she displayed. It was one of my most rewarding photographic mornings of my life.