One of the most eagerly anticipated events every spring is the hatching of the ducklings. We found this family between a pathway and the water at the Reifel bird sanctuary. The group's mother is just off the left of the photograph. The sanctuary is just South of Vancouver, Canada.
The ducklings were getting some shut-eye when the first picture was made. The sound of the camera's motor drive (a Nikon F4s was used) alerted them and this picture was made. It was less than a second after the first one.
It was a sunny day with strong contrasts, so an on-camera flash helped fill in the shadows. It also added a little highlight in the eyes of some of the ducklings. The rocks in the foreground are unfortunate, but we were concerned that if we moved from our position it would scare the ducklings into the water. As it happened, the ducklings simply closed their eyes again and we quietly left.
A 80-200mm zoom lens was used at 200mm