Gloria's Birds: Bufflehead gliding close to the water's surface, even touching it,

Photo copyright Gloria Z. Nagler

and not because it makes for a good image:).

It's the "ground effect", which, to the best of my understanding, is: air funnels between the bird's wings and the water's surface, creating a cushion that increases the lift and reduces the drag.

Go, Bufflehead!

--Gloria Z. Nagler