This Tufted Duck has been present now for two winters on Lake Dardanelle in western Arkansas. It is nice enough to usually hang around in the same part of the lake, luckily right out from Kenny and LaDonna Nichols place. A good bird in this area has no chance of getting by undetected!

I had hoped for some closer photos, as at times it has come in fairly close. At its closest to me though, it was a good 300-400 yards out anyway, and past the real reach of my camera. It was out well past this when I 1st picked it up, finally the group flew much closer, where I photographed them. On top of this, it slept 95% of the time during the couple of hours I watched it. It still gives you a good idea of what a distant sleeping Tufted duck looks like anyway!