I think I’ve tried harder this year to capture shots of the Red-Breasted Merganser, particularly the male, than any other seabird. And it’s not that I haven’t seen a lot of them at Titlow and Owens Beach, but they are always so far away that I can’t get a decent shot of them even when it’s heavily cropped.
I have seen them near Fort Flagler nearly every time I’ve been this year, but they are always a long ways offshore. So, I guess I’m going to have to settle for these two shots because I’m sure they are about to head off to their nesting areas in the Arctic.
There’s something about that Mohawk Hair-do that just fascinates me.
They are a colorful bird in flight and I keep hoping to top this shot I took at Port Orchard a few years ago, but patience — and eternal optimism — are a photographer’s greatest assets.
