Happy days are here again

For me, it is always a happy day when the winter time birds come back to So California. From the White-crown Sparrows to the migratory ducks, they make my photographic trips much more productive and enjoyable. One of those birds is the Hooded Merganser. Never present in large numbers here in So Cal, they seem to prefer lakes and ponds that have shallow areas. I am sure the reason for this is that their preferred food seems to be crayfish. I have a small community pond near me that usually attracts at least a few of the Mergansers. I am going to post a few images I took in the last few days of this group. I am experimenting with different styles and types of images. Let me know if you like (or not) these. The first one I will post is a female HM that I photographed at sunset