Evening activity at the wetland area of VOA Park (from my field journal, Friday evening, May 15, 2009)

The evening sun, low in the sky, highlights these two gentle mallards as they weave in and out of the tall grasses and reeds growing in small channels of water in the wetland area of VOA Park. Never separating, they move into my camera's view for a moment and then out for another as they quietly go about their business, soft little quacks going back and forth between them every now and then. The female is more wary of my camera than the male, usually keeping her head held high, checking to make sure I keep my distance.


In a couple of months, these little channels of running water will be gone, baked dry in the late July and August heat, but now, nothing but new green lushness and silky pools surround the ducks. To the southwest, the sky has turned dark blue and grey. I hadn't noticed the approaching storm. Rain will arrive soon, lasting through the night and into the morning. The little watery wetland will stay flooded for a while, and shorebirds will visit. Right now, three Spotted Sandpipers are foraging on the bank of the small pond, and I've seen Lesser Yellowlegs bobbing up and down where the mallard couple is floating right now.


In the small pond across the path, tree swallows chase insects and each other through the heavy evening air. They are busy hawking their almost invisible prey, occasionally splashing in the water and coming in for a closer look at Rick and me as I hold my camera, trying to capture the beauty of this moment.