Photo by Chris Bosak
Four male Hooded Mergansers swim in Norwalk Harbor near Veterans Park in Norwalk, Conn., Jan. 2015.

Much of Norwalk Harbor was frozen on Tuesday afternoon, but the spots that weren’t frozen made for ideal hunting grounds for Hooded Mergansers. It was the first measurable snow of the year for coastal southwestern Connecticut so I figured I’d take a quick drive to see what photographic opportunities presented themselves. Hooded Mergansers are often the only birds around on such days. Ducks, with their down feathers close to their bodies, are supremely adapted to handle such conditions.