hooded Merganser

Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)

Place: Papago Park, Phoenix, AZ
Date: January 14, 2014, 8:34 am
Equipment: Nikon D300, Nikkor AF-S 300/2.8 & TC20E III (2x), G1325, RRS BH-55, Sidekick
Exposure: aperture priority matrix metered, ISO 400, 1/1000th @ f/8
Raw, PS CS3 on Mac, 70% of frame

A companion shot to me previous post, this time with the crest mostly down. And I managed to give the merganser a bit more room at the rear.

As primarily a bird-in-habitat shooter I have some trouble with ducks on water. If I allow as much habitat around my subject as I normally do I find it often is too uniform and a bit boring. I can partially compensate for that by waiting for the subject to move into some intersting color reflection.

Honest critiques requested; all comments appreciated.