Dabbling ducks, Constitution Gardens Pond, DC

Ducks have been arriving in DC over the past few weeks, and with the autumn leaves still offering pleasant reflected colours on the water, I headed to the Constitution Gardens Pond for first light. Despite the pond's modest size, it always attracts a mixed of dabbling and diving ducks - this morning more noteworthy birds included Gadwall, American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler and Ring-necked Duck.

The pond is in a predominantly east-west orientation, with a little island that one can walk onto via a short wooden bridge. Shooting from this island with the ground pod, I was aiming for eye-level front-lit scenes. Not so this morning... the "more interesting" birds were hanging-out on the eastern side of the island where they were mostly back lite. If this continues to be their favoured "hang-out" then evenings will be a better option. That said, I was happy with a few shots while the sun was still quite low.

American Wigeon, Constitution Gardens Pond, DC

Northern Shoveler, Constitution Gardens Pond, DC

And then in the far western corner, a drake Gadwall and Mallard were posing together.

Gadwall and Mallard, Constitution Gardens Pond, DC