Never A Dull Duck On A Dinky Pond

This is a small pond with a trail that runs around it call Highland pond preserve. It is not very big or a pond that you would want to swim in but fortunately, it was protected from development. This pond, although small, has turned up some less common ducks over the last few years. It's a nice spot that's only 10 minutes from my house.

I spent some time looking up into the trees trying to identify tiny fast-moving birds. The challenge was that newly falling leaves kept throwing me off the track!

The main feature of this preserve is the pond itself. On this particular morning I saw about a dozen Wood Ducks, Mallards, my first American Coot of the year, and this somewhat dull looking duck. I almost overlooked it but I realized it was a little different from the others. I wasn't confident with identifying this as a male Gadwall until I checked my photos. That's not a prize find by any means but still not a duck you see every day or in every pond. it just shows you how important it is to protect natural habitat wherever you can.