At Leeseville Pond on 3/11/04, there were 20 + Common Mergansers on the water. The male white body feathers stand out at a distance and the effect can be enhanced for the viewer when you not only receive the sunlight reflected directly from the white feathers but also the sunlight that reaches your eyes from the white feathers after reflecting off the water surface directly in front of the merganser. You can see this effect in my photograph of a pair of common mergansers taken from the small park at the entrance to All Faiths Cemetery on Island Road. I took this picture at about 4:00 PM with the sun at my back. (photo from Bob Ricci).