Driving to work through dense fog this morning, I detoured for a quick look round Falmer Pond. I was last there on Tuesday (the woodpecker and wagtail post) and on that visit all was quiet along the water's edge. So it was something of a surprise to see a gaggle of tiny ducklings hurrying along the grass as I pulled in. The light (as ever, it seems, was terrible) and my first shot (1/20s shutter) is something of a motion blur. But this is how it came out. All I've done is adjust the levels a little to bring out the colour.

Given their absence a couple of days ago, I can only assume that these are very young ducklings indeed, and all the cuter for it. Having spotted them (and seen the disarray of my first attempt at photographing them) I pushed the ISO settings up, opened up the aperture and crept up to between 1/50 and 1/160s. It's at time like this that you really do appreciate image stabilizing technology.

Mum was standing proudly by, keeping a close watch on her brood.


Nature Blog Network
Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.

This Post Has 11 Comments

  1. Mum has all her ducks in a row. 😀

  2. Mick, she did yesterday. Today she was sitting on them!

  3. So they might still be in a row, you just couldn't see. 😉

  4. Erwin, thanks!

  5. Today's entry reveals all 😉

  6. Mum looks very proud – and rightly so!

  7. Lois, she's doing well with them!

  8. I seem to recall Mick saying that my foxcub posts last year warranted an "excessive cuteness warning" and I'd say that this post deserves the same! :awww: 😀

  9. I've gottn used to bracing myself before I open his latest post.

  10. Adele, no cuteness warnings… just a huge dollop of the stuff when you arrive 😀

  11. Cute pict

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