This Hooded Merganser painting finished 5th place in the 2004 Federal Duck Stamp Competition.

I spent a lot of time researching the Hooded Merganser. They are a striking bird. The long feathers on there head make a beautiful white fan edged with black. It is common to see Hooded Mergansers on wooded rivers and ponds and most people don't know that they actualy nest in trees. Just like my Northern Shoveler entry from 2003, this painting is as much about the light on the bird as the bird itself.