We're A Happy Family

There's been a crop of new arrivals down at the duckpond; half a dozen cygnets, and eight ducklings. My camera's zoom is useless/non-existent, so I had to go through a lot of stealthy Attenboroughesque edging across the ground to get close to the family without them bolting straight for the water.

I ended up sat right next to the brood of ducklings, who immediately huddled together in a manoeuvre that's presumably intended to deter predators, although I honestly can't think of a single carnivore on earth that's likely to be put off dinner by its prey suddenly turning into a fortress of fluff. Anyway, after a few minutes of needless quivering, the little ones finally started popping their heads up again, and, reassured by the fact that I hadn't eaten them yet, began to waddle around again.

I got a lot of close-ups that I'm very pleased with, all the more so given that no zoom was involved, so the shots reflect my actual proximity to the animals. But I've gone with this capture, one of the first I took, just before the brood got suspicious and went into huddle-mode. Here, this particular duckling comes face to face with a camera for the first time, and looks quite intrigued by it. It's rare that I get a portrait subject so relaxed...