Male hooded merganser, Oregon, United States 18 Nov 2025

Each autumn, the quiet waterways of Oregon, United States, become seasonal waypoints for hooded mergansers—small diving ducks native to North America. They are agile divers, plunging beneath the surface to catch fish and other prey. Males, known as drakes, stand out with their fan-shaped white crests, dark heads and chestnut-brown sides, while females, called hens, are brownish grey with smaller crests. Oregon"s lakes and wetlands provide sheltered feeding grounds as these birds migrate or winter across the continent.

© Eric Vogt/TANDEM Stills + Motion

palette

Today in History

Keyholes to the kingdom
18 Nov 2023Polar bear season in Manitoba
18 Nov 2024Porthcawl lighthouse, Wales

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Check out these ‘sea cows’
10 Jan 2024Mylopotamos, Thessaly, Greece
The mountains are calling
Creating a better world
27 Mar 2024World Theatre Day
Colors of spring
22 Dec 2025The Nutcracker performed by the Turkish State Opera and Ballet in Ankara
30 Mar 2025Mothering Sunday
10 Jun 2024The city of Osaka at night, Japan
16 Jan 2024Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
10 Feb 2026Es Vedrà and Es Vedranell, Ibiza, Spain
17 Dec 2024Traditional red fishermens cabins, Reine, Norway
Frosty Finland
A shiver of sharks on the hunt
What returned to this city 500 years ago?
Aug 31, 2023Saguaro cacti, Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona
15 Aug 2024Hang Sơn Đoòng, Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, Vietnam
In hot water
7 Mar 2026The Brocken, Harz National Park, Germany
21 Jul 2024Kendwa village, Zanzibar, Tanzania
A remote oasis in Texas
Sep 1, 2023National Mushroom Month
10 Oct 2023Mount Sopris, Colorado, USA
21 Apr 2024London Marathon
America’s backyard
28 May 2024The Monastery of Roussanou, Greece
13 Sep 2025Last Night of the Proms
14 Mar 2026Celebrating Pi Day
15 Mar 2024Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California, USA
25 Dec 2024Merry Christmas!