I went to a photo shoot, and a fight (or two) broke out

Two muscovy ducks battle it out, starting on land.

The fight continued in the water. Is this one the bully? Or the bullied?

It was the victim muscovy getting chased by the bully muscovy.

My furlough-extended weekend has been full of gorging on fast food (more on that later), with a little photography sprinkled in here and there.

None of the photographs, however, were notable. Until Thursday.

I set out to test a new wide-angle lens (more on that later), but my telephoto somehow found its way onto my camera when I stumbled across Wells Park, near Melbourne's downtown area.

The urban retreat - frequented by young parents with small children, and single people with dogs - is called home by an array of birds and fish.

And a lot of the birds seemed to be in a fighting mood.













Left: These ducks were picking on themselves, doing their daily plucking early in the evening.

The ducks move into the water.

I focused on the far one, which is probably different from what I would usually do, but I think it works.

An ibis is backlit by sunshine bouncing off a gazebo.

Another ibis prepares for a bath.

An ibis fights with the water.

Like I said, a lot of parents bring their children to the park to feed the fowl. By the time I got around to asking this girl's dad for permission to take photos, it was too late. She ran out of bread, and this is the only shot I got.

This heron does not look happy. It must be time for a beat-down.

In a nest high in a pine tree, two young herons fight over a fish caught and delivered by a parent.