...well, maybe it's more like "just tanning" for this punk-rock duck.
I suspect this is a merganser, but I'm no bird expert (though I'm learning).
Idyll
During the rain season (which has come back with full force a month late here in the mountains), there are entire miniature ecosystems where water collects into small temporary ponds. Mallards are their most obvious inhabitants, but so are ringed plovers, countless black birds, snakes.
On the Shore
This mallard seemed to be enjoying the sunset as much as the humans on the shore.
I...Just...Don't...
Off to Disney you go, duck!
Not to dissect Nature's humor, but I think the "white" of this mallard's eye, or, rather, the illusion thereof, is created by falling snow.
It's Coming Down
This turned into one of those experiences, where shooting an everyday scene, while falling down, and getting the camera wet, ended up being totally worth it.
If you like subtlety, that is.
I do.
Immer Vorwärts!
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.