Hooded Mergansers!

A few weeks ago, we took a ride into the woods to find streams and lakes where perhaps we

could see some ducks that were migrating through our area

to head south for Spring.

For the first time, EVER....

I was thrilled to get up pretty close to the

beautiful

HOODED MERGANSER.

Please click HERE for more info about them, they are gorgeous ducks.

See?:

(He seemed to have an "attitude" about my taking his photo!)

But his buddy was more social and let me take his photo:

(Don't you just love their little "helmet heads"?)

Here is a handsome couple.

I think the brown female is pretty too, with her tuft of feathers on her head:

(I found it interesting that the male has yellow eyes and the female had red eyes!)

Whenever we saw a male and female they were seperated and swimming together, away from the

single males:

They probably have already started little ones and claimed territory:

Unlike Mr. Attitude here...who puffed up his neck in warning to me.

Gheesh, I can't help it if he hasn't found a date for the prom yet!:

Although he is a fine male specimen....she couldn't go wrong mating with Mr. Handsome:

If only he didn't have that helmet head.....People may point and laugh....

But, it seems to have worked for SOME......

Of course, if you can't win the ladies with your helmet head....

you could always turn around

and show them

that gorgeous tail action....

Yep...that seemed to have worked, too--

Born to be wild.....

And it doesn't hurt at all...

to be this beautiful, even if you

ARE

still a single stud.

I mean, it worked on ME,

and

I'm human........