Merganser at Staines Pond

[Shortsighted]

I returned to Staines Pond and found that Common merganser were still there. I counted them. There were twelve of them, a couple of half dozen, if you ignore the rest of them. That's more than I saw yesterday. Eight of them were hanging around together. Let's call them the magnificent seven (plus a mascot). The rest were a sober foursome. The magnificent seven were actively diving only on the north end of the pond and otherwise inactive at the south end. I was romancing the isthmus in between and shooting transits. Then people showed up and that was the end of that. Nonetheless, I did manage to get a few shots, although perhaps not a close as I might have gotten without the posse showing up.

There were also a couple of Belted kingfisher on the other side of the pond. It felt good to be out although the wind was starting to build in intensity during the time that I was engaged. I dressed more warmly this time ... a hoodie and two coats. The sun didn't come out in full until I had quit the scene. Didn't bother to tweek the white balance for sun and then cloud and for which Charline will surely give me grief.