Mallard at Kingston Lock

Before the Lightroom session, before I knew what I’d actually photographed, I was already writing off the morning. I’d walked back on the Delaware and Raritan Canal Park Trail from Lake Carnegie Dam toward the parking area at the Kingston Lock with not much to show for it — a few birds I’d assumed were Mallards. It was now around 8 AM on Friday, and the clock was pulling me home: coffee, laptop, the workday waiting. Near the Kingston Grist Mill there’s a small patch of grass edged by a tangle of shrubs and the Millstone River. Song Sparrows nest there. I paused for a moment, not with any real expectation, just the habit. Then a male Mallard stepped out of the shadow of a tree into the early light. That iridescent green on his head lit up like something switched on. I raised the X-T5 and took a few shots. Mallard · Friday 24 April 2026FujiFilm X-T5 · ISO 3200 · 1/1000 secXF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR · 558.5 mm · f/14 Out of the water, ducks always seem slightly awkward to me — that rolling waddle, feet splayed, looking like they’ve wandered into the wrong habitat and are making the best of it. On a pond they’re effortless. On grass they’re tolerating the situation. This one carried himself with a certain dignity, but the orange feet gave him away. Still. Good light, right moment. That was enough.