It's merganser day! For my sketch I took a chance... went with black watercolor paint directly on the paper - no preliminary drawing. Sometimes I just have to loosen up a little. I used a couple of Jorge's older photos as reference - love the contrasts and the reflections.

Left, Hooded Merganser, Lophodytes cucullatus
Right, Red-breasted Merganser, Mergus serrator

One of our weekend beauties was this pair of Hooded Mergansers on a pond at the fish hatchery. There were more of them down on the Quinebaug River, along with a few Common Mergansers and other ducks, but the confines of the pond kept these two a little closer to the camera.

Hooded Merganser, Lophodytes cucullatus
Quinebaug Fish Hatchery, Plainville, Connecticut