Hooded Merganser at his finest

A heavily cropped, very grainy image, taken in very poor light, but it was the "best" of all the shots I took. I didn't realize just how poor the light was and I ended up deleting almost all the photos I took. However, I wouldn't have any of these photos if my friends, Dorothy and Stephen, hadn't very kindly invited me to go along with them to the Irrigation Canal in the city. I rarely see Hooded Mergansers and, when I do see one, it's always a long way away. Quite spectacular ducks, especially the males, who have a crest at the back of their head and can raise this black and white "hood" (as in my photo) or lower it. I really liked the water patterns - except for the awful graininess, ha.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooded_Merganser