Hooded Merganser

The Haun Trail around the Bass Lake Reserve continues to introduce me to exciting species! Kenobi and I walked out on the ice toward this raft of Hooded Mergansers. They are so fast! And they seem to sit lower in the water while swimming. When I first saw one of these interesting birds, it seemed only its head was sticking out of the water, speeding along the top of the lake.

They are also less tolerant of the likes of us–skittish.  We didn’t get very close, but they took off for another part of the lake, and we didn’t see where they ended-up. Only one stayed behind and continued swimming back and forth faster than any of the other water fowl we’ve seen.