Could not wait

There have been a number of images posted that were taken at Santee Lakes of the Hooded Merganser pair. “Hoodies” are among my favorite waterfowl to photograph. They appear to have a definite attitude toward other species of ducks and among themselves. Here is an image, not from Santee Lakes, that was taken in the spring right before the northward migration toward their nesting grounds in the far north. This male obviously could not wait until they were in their breeding territory.
One of the interesting factors of this image is that it was taken at 1200 mm (600 f/4.0 + 2x extender) handheld.