Almost impossible shot

This is my favourite shot of the year, by far. The chances of capturing this tiny bird, with its incredible reflection and the unbelievably beautiful water still thrills me; I can still hardly believe how it all came together.

Imagine you are sitting at the edge of a shaded duck pond, and there in the distance is a lone duckling. An egg-sized duckling. Darting about in the water. Sitting beside me was a precious seven year old and we were both mesmerised by the duckling’s cuteness and we were both concerned that no parents were guarding it. Other people turned up but couldn’t even see what we were looking at, that’s how tiny and distant this little duckling was.

But, somehow, I managed to handhold my long lens steady enough to capture a shot as the duckling was swimming towards us. It’s often tricky to focus on the eye of a perched bird but to focus on a dot that is darting frenetically around a pond took my concentration to a whole new level.

It wasn’t until I looked at the photograph on the big screen that I realised how sharp the duckling is, including its reflection, and how amazing the water looks. I love the colour and folds of the silky greenness, and am staggered every time I look at the image to see that the duckling appears to be swimming in a dip. The effort of its tiny little feet as they’re furiously paddling has created a bowl effect.

I don’t usually share images when I’m in the honeymoon period with them, but I love this one so much that I have disobeyed my own rule. One of the things I love about photography is that we all like different things – so I hope at least some of you like this photograph as much as I do.

There was a lot of drama at the duckpond as this tiny duckling and its sibling darted around with no sign of their parents. Eventually, the missing adults turned up with three more ducklings. I’m guessing this is their first brood and they are still learning how to defend them. The adults had a noisy interaction with a pair of Dusky Moorhens but were intimidated by the roaming pelican. We had a few scary moments as we watched the dramas unfold. Thankfully the pelican glided away, looking like some kind of ominous warship. Hopefully the adult ducklings soon got used to their newly hatched brood and learned to keep them closer, especially as Chestnut Teal numbers have been in serious decline for the past few decades.

Oh my goodness! Just as I’m about to publish this post my favourite small bird turned up at the birdbath. One visited many years ago and I caught a brief but beautiful glimpse of another a few months back. This time I raced through the house for my camera and took some shots through the window. Hopefully I’ll have at least one that is clear enough to share with you next week.

Happy birding, Kim

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