Two for the price of one

One of these days I'll learn and always have my camera out and ready to go when I first get to the pond. But because today was not that day, I missed out on a chance for some really good photos of a heron as it waded near where the goose is nesting; by the time I'd stopped and was getting the lens cap off, it'd flown further away. So instead you get this shot:



A couple of turtles crossed paths as I stood watching:



The winner of the skirmish:



Have I mentioned how much I love my new zoom lens? 'Cause I especially do when it garners me pics like this of a female kingfisher:



Naturally, the kingfisher I spotted didn't stay on my side of the pond for very long, flying over across the way to look for fish. She finally got one, and then found a spot to dispatch her prey and enjoy the meal. As she started bashing the fish against the branch, a male kingfisher came in and perched on the branch just below hers:



A few moments later, he swooped up and went after her catch:



But she managed to elude him, leaving him in her former spot and settling down below him against the tree trunk:



Unfortunately, when she went to find another spot to eat in peace she ended up dropping the fish back into the pond. So I'm figuring that if the male was her mate, this is her giving him the cold shoulder:



I'm not sure which of the two birds was flying across the pond here, but I liked how you can see how streamlined it can make itself—perfect for diving:



A blackbird perched not too far away from where I stood:



Finally, most of my attempts today to capture Canada geese in flight didn't turn out all that great—hopefully next time I'll remember to switch to sports mode to get that faster shutter speed. I liked this one, though, because it was an instance where I thought the blurriness added to the overall effect rather than detracting from it: