Hooded Merganser

According to Idioms on Line, the saying “like water off a duck’s back” has been used since the early 1800’s. The saying applies when one is not affected by insults or criticisms. Ducks may spend up to 25% of their time preening, spreading oil from a gland on their rumps (KQED). Further, ducks have more and denser feathers than many other birds. Erika and I photographed water droplets on this Hooded Merganser’s back on 7 November 2020 at Olympia’s Capitol Lake.