Illusive

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It had rained and was cold.  Above freezing, but raw and damp.

The wife knows I will get out on the river.  Spring is here and I want to see nature's secrets.

I think of early season paddles in previous years.  It would be cold and icy.  But I would see the hidden - bald eagles, otters, the first redwing blackbirds.

The hooded mergansers have been so numerous on the river.  They congregate in small groups.  They don't let me get close.

Of course the mallards are about.

The snow is melting and I come across some snow drops.

The blue heron stayed all through the winter.  We did not have a lot of ice cover on the river.  I suppose they were able to find food all winter.

There were Canadian geese about.  Their honking breaks the silence . . .

I paddle about.  Common mergansers fly overhead.  Of in the distance I see a large group of the red headed females, but they take wind when I get close.

I come across some less common visitors.  There is a pair of wood duck.  The colorful male was just magnificent.

I also come across a shoveler male and female.  I see these less often then the wood ducks.

The redwing blackbirds watch as I paddle about.  They are the harbingers of Spring.

 
The cold starts to seep in and my hand are going numb.  I head back, but see the hooded mergansers swimming about.

How do they stay warm?