A group of feeding buffleheads are fascinating to watch and challenging to photograph. They dive and reappear with little warning and trying to catch them at just that ‘perfect moment’ is sometimes more of a wish than a reality. It took me more than 400 shots to catch one of them at almost that ‘perfect moment’, and then the lighting wasn’t exactly what I’d hoped for….but I’ll take this shot, it’s the closest I’ve come to catching them right before they dive into the water.

Bufflehead facts: Foraging birds, they divide their time almost equally between shallow dives and rest periods on the water surface. Dives average 12.5 seconds in length. Prey is swallowed while under water. During the shortest days of winter these birds may be forced to continue foraging for hours after dark to secure enough prey to survive. ~ Smithsonian National Zoological Park

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