Each spring, dozens of Hooded Mergansers drop in at Berlin Pond, the water supply for Montpelier.  Usually paired off, they grace the early days of icy open water.  Some stick around all season on local water — nesting in trees like wood ducks.  The males are hard to miss with their big white patch on the crest.

The last few days, I’ve been watching them come and go at the pond.  I digiscoped a pair this afternoon as they paddled away between ice floes.  They’re my favorite duck.