Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Big Rooster Tail

There were a half dozen Hooded Mergansers diving for crayfish on the lake. One of the females surfaced with a bright red crayfish. When two of the males twenty feed away saw it, they immediately took off after her to steal it, but she kicked up a gigantic rooster tail and escaped with her sumptuous catch.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 01.2022
Date Uploaded: 11.2023
Photo Location: Arcadia, California, United States of America
Copyright: © John LeeWong