One of my favorite parts of fall is the duck migration. Things have been on the slow side this year but still a little activity. Heading out to an area shallow pond before the sun rises brings great anticipation of what may be stirring on this morning. With a few clouds in the sky the sunrise provided some beautiful colors to mark the start of a day out in nature.

One of the staples out at this pond is a family of trumpeter swans which is always a nice sight during the morning. They are so graceful swimming among the plants and downed trees. Even though they are becoming more common it’s still fulfilling to watch as two parents raise their young.

The most obvious display of the fall migration was a large flock of wood ducks gathered together preparing for their trip south. I’ve never seen so many wood ducks all together. Usually they are mixed in with other types of waterfowl. Over the course of the morning a young eagle would appear flying over flocks of ducks sometimes circling them and other times landing in a tree watching over them. It never really went after a duck which may have been because there wasn’t a good opportunity or because it was just practicing. Still fun to watch but every time this happened I missed it with the camera.

While I was hoping for more activity during this beautiful morning it was a fun day just taking a break from everyday activities.