Pintails backlit in the marsh

Low winter sun turning every water droplet into a spark of light, a small raft of pintails dabbling and shaking off just as the light hit them right. The long, slender neck and needle-thin tail feather on the lead bird are the giveaway for pintails over the more common mallards and black ducks nearby.

Why it matters

Chincoteague’s marshes are a major wintering ground for waterfowl on the Atlantic Flyway, and northern pintail numbers have declined more than most puddle ducks over the past few decades, largely from the loss of prairie pothole breeding habitat — a good winter count here is a small piece of a much bigger conservation picture.

Getting the shot

Backlighting turned a fairly ordinary group of feeding ducks into something with real sparkle — every flicked droplet became a bright point of light against the dark reeds behind them. Underexposing slightly kept those highlights from blowing out.