Spring has got to be wildlife photographers' favorite, since it is baby-animal season, even in metropolitan areas! I found these ducklings--slightly hesitant, though ready to proceed with further investigation of their murky element--in the pond outside the New Maiden (Novodevichy) Convent in Moscow.

After the Patriarch's Ponds, the New Maiden is my favorite place in the city. Admittedly, a part of me feels immeasurable, infinite nostalgia: after all, I grew up a subway stop away, and I engaged in a lot of sporting activities nearby as a child. But more immediately important, this is a somewhat central, yet quiet place to get away from the nonstop buzz of a massive city.

The ducklings' mother carefully oversaw their water training and suspiciously avoided my telephoto lens (almost, hah!). Normally, I try to check the specific names for the wildlife I photograph--if it is unfamiliar--but I'm ashamed to say that I'm not sure what these bright orange ducks are called, though I saw them all over the city, and though surprisingly beautiful they are.