Wednesday, May 2, 2012

A WEEK IN WATERFOWL


One thing about living along a river—no two days are ever alike; every day you see something new, often unexpected. The past seven days has been no exception. This is just a small segment—waterfowl—of what the passing parade served up. 

If there's ever a contest for America's prettiest waterfowl, the smart money might be on the wood duck. Just look at this pair I photographed a few days ago on the Cottage Pool. Especially the spectacularly handsome male—with his red eyes, green head, orange bill, turquoise wingbar, white chin and face pattern, and that ruddy-plum lower neck and chest. Talk about a feathered dandy! And those are just the highlights you can more-or-less see in this admittedly mediocre image. The female looks almost dowdy by comparison.

Although…the trio of blue-wing teal that stopped by briefly last week were also extremely attractive. And a few days before they dropped in, I looked out and saw two pairs of common mergansers feeding and diving about the pool. Maybe not pretty on the order of teal and woodies, but still nicely marked and quite attractive.

Of course there's always a mallard or two hanging about the pool and the stretches of slower water above and below the Big Riffle, which feeds the Cottage Pool and is almost high and steep enough to be called a falls—though I can never bring myself to tout it so pompously. Mallards are the common duck here along the river, as they are in most areas—wild or suburban.

The final member of this waterfowl report of the recently spotted is another common resident, the Canada goose. The river is home to countless geese. Honking all the way, they sail up and downstream all day—sometimes above the treetops, often barely a flapping wingtip from water's surface. A couple of months back the geese began pairing up, or at least loudly reaffirming their mate choices to all the interlopers who tried to offer themselves as preferable alternatives. The discussion were loud, angry, and not lack in regular goose-style fisticuffs. 

Such procreative shenanigans have their eventual consequences in the form of eggs which, duly and faithfully sat and incubated, hatch into fuzzy goslings. The same morning the teal stopped to visit, the pair of Canadas who've been nesting on the upstream tip of the island, paddled down to proudly show off their quartet of wide-eyed youngsters. 

I made a family portrait.


And that's the week in waterfowl. 
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10 comments:

AfromTO said...

You don't want too many Canada geese around they will eat every inch of grass you own,won't fly south,cover your property with their gifts and eventually their shear volume destroys water quality.Here in some lakefront municipalities they had to resort to putting plastic eggs under them(in exchange for theirs)to curb their masses taking over land to the point where humans couldn't use the property or water anymore.
Always as the saying goes too much of a good thing...

Robin said...

Makes me happy. Thank you.

Grizz………… said...

AfromTO…

These are civilized geese. They often come into the yard, but do little harm except to the egos of the roaming cats. Being a river, the water "changes" itself every hour or so—so no cleanliness issues. In truth, these are just little flocks and gaggles of geese, not the multitudes you often see around condos and apartment complexes. Those can, indeed, become a problem. And in their moderation, they are interesting and wonderful to have around. I love watching and hearing them as they make their daily rounds. Of course I can remember when there was a real chance of losing the magnificent Canada goose forever…and they're also my totem bird.

Grizz………… said...

Robin…

Hey, these our the sort of fowl photo subjects that quack me up. (Okay, something came over me; I couldn't help myself. Forgive me.)

The Weaver of Grass said...

Love those baby Canada Geese. Sadly, here in the UK the Canade Goose is seen as something of a pest as they land in the fields in their hundreds and eat the grass.
I have said it before but I will say it again Grizz - you are so lucky to live so near your river and its beauty,

Grizz………… said...

Weaver…

Don't get me wrong—much as I admire Canada geese, I also admit there are plenty of examples hereabouts where the flocks of the big birds are a serious nuisance. This especially true around such things as golf courses, or condo/apartment/shopping/office complexes where there are lots of landscape ponds and puddles nearby, or in many public parks where there's a lake or pond or water feature of some sort, lush grass for grazing, and protection. Plus rural fields a mile or two away from these places are also prone to becoming meal stops.

Still, I love seeing geese on the wing at dusk or dawn, love hearing them gabble to one another during their passage. For all its slovenly ways, the Canada goose is still a majestic bird.

Finally…yes, I know how fortunate I am to live where I do, to have this lovely old river and all the beauty it brings flow through my daily life.

Gail said...

Hi Grizz - we too have proud mallard parents to be happy in our pond out front as they are every year. Soon their ducklings will be swimming behind them. Gracie loves to jump in the pond to play w/them - they honk so loud in dislike!
Great pictures and sharing.
Love Gail
peace.....

Grizz………… said...

Gail…

No ducklings to report here—and haven't seen the geese pair with their goslings since the water came up yesterday; they're all likely sheltered in some nearby backwater.

You'd have to throw Moon-the-Dog in the river; she hate's getting wet. She's a dry-land chaser/player only.

Doreen Murgatroyd said...

I read in a recent post on the internet that some company had come up with a machine that easily picked up bird droppings. This would seem to be a good way of providing organic fertilizer for crops etc.

That male duck in your photo is really beautiful.

Grizz………… said...

Doreen…

Seeing as how there's a machine for everything else nowadays, I guess that doesn't surprise me. I'd think one could be of real use around certain lakes, parks, and golf-course/landscaping ponds where the geese number in the hundreds.

BTW, liked your site as I've always been a sucker for canoes, kayaks, and similar small boats.