Time To Say Goodbye

My absolute greatest pleasure over the last few months has been watching the daily comings and goings of the ducks and geese and other birds on the reservoir beside my studio.

Late one afternoon at the start of summer, Joss and I strolled along the water‘s edge.  It seemed deserted but for us.  Then, as we watched, eleven pairs of ducks, all with several young…plus two pairs of ducks without families…and one solo duck….gradually emerged from their snoozing spots in the bushes and took to the water in one massive convoy.  It was spectacular.

As the summer wore on and the babies grew, the birds no longer felt the need to hide away and took to resting out in the open.  So it became a kind of game to spot just where they’d chosen to sleep and groom themselves today.

The resident groups have been augmented by visitors now and then.  Like the pair of herons who flew low across the water one evening.

Now autumn’s here and the birds are thinning out.  Some have left, others are preparing to depart.  But some will stay to keep us company all winter.

Comments

[Rosanna]

I love how you've enhanced the colors of the image. (They are enhanced, right?)