Pond Life - Spring 2014

This spring, five ducklings and six goslings seem to be the haul that avoided the neighborhood crows and cats. This morning, the goose family was storming our bank to eat grass and flowers. As the photographer came on the scene, the geese steamed off a respectable distance and then pappy could be seen standing guard.

 

The pond's goose brood last year was seven, but it was a month later.

Birds of the Camargue

Debby and I took an afternoon apart from the tour group to visit a bird preserve at the southern end of the Camargue, near the Mediterranean coast.

The greater flamingo was the primary species evident, along with the grey heron and several other species. In case you wonder where all the flamingos come from, the answer can be found in the pictures. Most species recorded here are similar to a species of the same genus found in the Americas.

Greater Flamingo Studies

Female Multi-Tasking

Grey Heron Studies

Other Species of the Camargue

Little Egret

Black-Headed Gull

Black-Headed Gull Calling

Cattle Egret

Common Pochard

Eurasian Coot

Black-Winged Stilt

Our one other photographed species from the trip was a mute swan, of which many were seen on the rivers of France.

Mute Swan

Two species were observed in captivity at the park, perhaps disabled or part of a breeding campaign.

Eurasian Eagle Owl

Eurasian Eagle Owl with Chick

Black Stork

The Camague also offered a view of a semi-aquatic mammal, the coypu (nutria or river rat), a bit of a pest species here because of its ravenous appetite for wetland vegetation (clearcuts are its specialty, but it only eats part of the stalk, leaving all the rest).

Winter on the Way - 2013

Happy belated pumpkin day.
Our first frost usually happens around November 1st. This year it came on Oct 28th.
Mallards still frequent the pond. They are the only waterfowl here in the late summer and early autumn.
The first Buffleheads were seen to return on November 6th. A wigeon visited the pond on November 24th to wish us happy gobble-day.
Our first snow day was December 20.

 

Mallard Diver

There are two sorts of ducks: divers and dabblers (think head and shoulders under water, tail high in the air). According to the authoritative ornithology site at Cornell, mallards are of the dabbling sort who "almost never dive". So I feel privileged to have observed a mallard who almost never dabbles. It is a juvenile who is always accompanied by his mother, who doesn't dive. What might account for this precocious diving juvenile?

He was too young to have observed the diving ducks on the pond before they left in spring. Perhaps he is a young iconoclast duck. Or perhaps diving preceded dabbling on the evolutionary vector and his primitive brain is reasserting itself. Or perhaps he is cross-breed of some type.

His diving motion is identical to the divers we have seen on the pond, very smooth. He stays under water for around 7 seconds and moves perhaps 10 feet before resurfacing. While down, he pushes his bill through the soft sediment on the pond bottom. He seems an expert underwater swimmer. It appears his ability comes from his genes.

Here he is on a dive, then with something he dredged from the bottom, and lastly his mother, who just floats nearby wondering whose kid this is?

Update: This afternoon, every mallard on the pond is diving. Clearly, this is a standard, if secondary, behavior of mallards. I wonder if the juvenile's behavior was an influence on the others; mallard see, mallard do. Perhaps conditions on the pond do not provide enough food for dabblers this summer. The pond has been treated with an aquatic herbicide and the shallow parts don't have much vegetation right now.

In other pond action, we have had at least two bald eagle visits. When spotted, the pond mallards go berserk, squawking loudly and in unison as she makes her lengthwise pass over the pond. She doesn't slow and try to hover, just swoops across at about 15 feet above the surface. Eagles take fish and ducks and anything easy, including carrion. By the time I hear the ducks and get out to watch, she is just leaving, so haven't seen much of the action to date.

Modern Dinosaur Studies

Sitting partway up a Douglas-Fir, baby dino alternately preened and surveyed the pond. After an apparent small sight or sound of motion, all energy was concentrated on getting back down. But contrary to the expression of agitated vectoring, this was no quick dive, just a relaxed glide.

On the ground, attention was focused on several areas at pond's edge that instinct suggested might harbor a meal. Extreme patience was evident on the stalk, as motion slowed while approaching the target. The last two steps took about 10 seconds each, extreme slo-mo. Then rigid attention for up to half an hour, not a sign of movement.

After the score, dino took a few moments to swallow, then enjoyed a relaxed stroll around the pond.