Mallardling

Cute close-up ("L").

Yesterday I received a 1.4x teleconverter in the post: it is a Nikon teleconverter and I chose the least magnifying one because it only reduces the maximum aperture by 1 stop, and users said that the other ones (1.7x and 2.0x) resulted in a noticeable reduction in image quality, while this is generally unnoticeable i the 1.4x and the autofocus is also pretty much unaffected... The 1.4x TC turns my 70-200mm f/2.8 into a 98-280mm f/4: I took it out this afternoon and am very pleased with the results! I'm surprised by how much closer it gets me, and the image quality and autofocus genuinely do seem unaffected.

Today, other than the pictures, I enjoyed looking at the creatures more closely; it feels quite different. It raised my spirits after a less than cheerful early afternoon, so was a very welcome pick-me-up.

This is a mallardling on Long Pond: the mother has 10, and some of them have quite pale colouring which is sweet.
I've also uploaded a flapping cootling (well, perhaps a coot fledgling) and one of the Goosle goslings: all three were taken at 280mm (the full reach of my lens and teleconverter combo).