Have you ever watched a Hooded Merganser duck dive? They will be swimming along and then suddenly they will arch their bodies and thrust slightly upwards before disappearing into the water.
As I watched a group of Hooded Megansers (Lophodytes cucullatus) diving in the deep water of a small pond, I decided to see if I could catch them mid-dive. It proved to be more difficult to accomplish than I realized and I ended up with lots of frames of tails sticking out of the water. Here’s the best shot of a female that I managed to capture as she prepared to go under the water. Her body position reminds me of a dolphin, though I have never seen a dolphin with that kind of a hairstyle.
I was not quite as successful with the male ducks, but I did capture a fun two-image sequence. The male Hooded Merganser did not seem to come out of the water as much as the female did. As a result, he created a much bigger splash—if this had been an Olympic diving competition, he would certainly have lost points for his sloppy entry into the water.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Ha! I’ve only seen mergansers a few times — lucky you, to have them around. These are neat captures. You’re right that the female has better form. It struck me that she seems mightily unimpressed with her companion’s attempts.