When I left Tacoma today to head out to Nisqually Wildlife Refuge, it was bright and sunny. By the time I got there, it was cold and foggy.
Which was probably a good thing, photographically, because usually when I get a shot of a male Hooded Merganser all highlights are blown out in the white and black hood, but that’s not true in this shot, at least not in the original, where you can see many of the small feathers that make up the hood:
Which is not to say that I wasn’t delighted when the sun finally showed up right after lunch, just in time to get some of the best shots I’ve ever gotten of these Green-Winged Teal. I was amazed how close to the trail they were, and even more amazed that they showed no tendency to fly away when I pointed my lens at them.
But perhaps it was because most of the water was frozen, and the Teal didn’t feel as tempted to take up ice skating as these American Coots did:
