Mikepércs: Teals

I started to the pond enthusiastically at dawn, hoping the ducks and the redshanks would appear again. In front of the hide the green plants are growing, so I was hoping in some nice composition.

Being overcast, there's no reason pushing the shutter button, so I'm just watching the events outside, the redshanks, the stilts and the ducks. Slowly the lights are getting stronger and a redshank gets really close to my hide:

Redshank

Then teals are landing nearby and slowly approaching. A couple gets so close that I had to zoom out so that they can fit in the frame. Unfortunately it's quite windy so the background is given by the sky's greyness because of the waves:

Teal (male)

Meanwhile the female is walking to the shore, ...:

Teal (female)

... then searching in the shallow water:

Teal (female)

The teals soon get away, but a grey heron is landing. It's a bit far from me, it starts hunting, but nothing is getting into it's beak except of a few twigs. So it flies off soon.
A little farther the redshanks' nuptial events are taking place, then a couple of shovelers are approaching. Suddenly I notice they are mating! The female almost disappears under the water with the male on her back. Unfortunately they are not close enough, and on top of that showing their bottom to me, so it's impossible to take decent shots of the event.
Soon the sunshine is getting too strong, so I decide to leave.

Mikepércs: At The Pond

Spring has come. The birds have dropped away recently at the feeder, so I wasn't able to photograph them. However I could take my hide to the pond, where I discovered teals, shovelers, garganeys and mallards previously. Unfortunately the coots and the little grebes disappeared, surely for the low water level. But until there is any water in the pond, it must be a nice place.

It's not completely dark when I get to the pond this morning, so my arrival make all the birds fly off. Then after I get into the hide the birds start to come back. First the redshanks land to a distant bank, but they soon come closer and get within shooting distance:

Redshank

The night has been really cold, even a thin layer of ice has developed on the shallow water, which broke when a redshank landed on it, so the bird had to make some jumps not to sink:

Redshank

Green sandpipers get closer too:

Green Sandpiper

Then little ringed plovers appear, this brown-white little bird looks nice among the fresh green plants:

Little Ringed Plover

Meanwhile the ducks are coming as well, first a couple of mallards arrive on a distant bank then a flock of garganeys are flying above the pond and after a short time they land on the water farther on. But they are closing! That's great! They seem to be coming to the shore:

Garganeys

Some of them are spending a few minutes on the bank:

Garganey (male)

But they don't stay long, soon they are back on water:

Garganey (male)

As the sunshine is getting stronger, the light conditions are getting worse, so I finish my photography for today.