This past weekend I inadvertently spooked a small flock of little Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa) while wandering about Huntley Meadows Park, but managed to get some shots of them as they flew away through the trees.
I just love the combination of the colorful birds in flight and the autumn foliage.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I love watching the geese fly on crisp autumn days; such wonderful Ernest Hemingway moments.
Wood ducks are some of the most beautiful birds in the forest. If only they’d let me get a little closer.
I’m with you on both counts, Allen. In my experience, wood ducks are the most skittish of the ducks that I occasionally encounter and I usually see them only when they are flying away.
Great color here, Mike, and good action shots too. Bet you fired off a few pretty quickly. These ducks are really hard to photograph, they are so skittish.
You are right about the need for speed, Sue. I didn’t even know there were ducks there and suddenly I saw them taking off. Fortunately I was able to track them, even when they went behind some of the trees (using servo mode).