Wild About the City &raquo; Exploring nature in the urban environment

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The March wind doth blow

Posted in Ducks, Songbirds

An early harbinger of spring: A redwinged blackbird stakes out his territory in the hope of attracting a mate.

Holy Mackinaw! There were times at the beach today when I thought I was going to be swept out to sea . . . um, the bay! I will have to look it up to see exactly what category hurricane we were having this morning.

There was warmth in the sun, but it only peeked out every so often, making for chilling temperatures and frozen fingers.

Good news on several fronts! Insert your own fanfare here — this is the single most important harbinger of spring. The redwinged blackbirds have returned! Perhaps they were blown in on the gale overnight. At any rate, they are certainly back. Not in the profusion we’ll see in the days and weeks ahead. No, these are the advance reconnaissance troops, checking out the conditions for courting and mating.

Some of the male redwings seemed to have found Ashbridges to their liking, already staking out trees and calling away to announce themselves to any passing females in the mood for a mate.

And even more good news for all those who, like me, were wondering about the gadwalls. I did, in fact, see a single pair of gadwalls this morning in the inlet where the boat berths are closest to the footpath. They bobbed into view, then disappeared quickly to go who knows? I didn’t seem them again, even though I was looking for them.

A male goldeneye begins his peculiar courtship display.

Another treat today: the comical courtship display of the goldeneye males. There was a flotilla of goldies out in the inner bay. The females were paddling about, looking pretty unconvinced about the whole mating thing, but the males kept up their comical routine anyway. In the first picture you can see one of the males extending his neck, getting ready to make his courting call. In the next shot, the male has thrust his head backward so that the tip of it touches his rump.

The second half of the male goldeneye's ritual.

Looks like a strong wave (of which there many this a.m.) would swamp him. Still photos don’t really do this performance justice. Next time I witness this I’ll make a little video.

In the meantime, keep up all positive thoughts of spring. There’s plenty of evidence it’s on the way.

Posted in Ducks, Songbirds

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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Where have all the gadwalls gone?

Posted in Ducks

Screened behind some winter stems, our very shy gadwall pair are alert to the tiniest disturbance.

It’s been months now since I’ve last seen a gadwall at our little bay in the Big Smoke. In fact, this is the first winter I haven’t seen any gadwall pairs on my usual ramblings at the lake. In the past, a few couples stuck around all season. In particular, one pair hung out in the tiny protected inlet on the southeast side of the Ashbridges Bay Yacht Club. They were there, reliably, year round, dabbling in the shallows. Shy and wary when it comes to humans, but always there.

The gadwalls (Anas strepera) are first cousins to their near look-alikes, the everpresent mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), but are VERY unlike them in behaviour. The unfazed mallards let me come right up close to them before they take off, wiggling their bums as they waddle away, and warn me off with a loud and annoyed sounding QUACK, quack quack quack). The gadwalls, by comparison never let me get within 50 feet of them. When they are dabbling in the shallows of the lake by the path, even the softest footfalls I can make alert them to my presence. Off they go, bombing out from the shelter of the overhanging plants at the lake’s edge in an alarmed clatter, paddling swiftly out into the safer waters of the inlet.

I took the above photo above of the gadwall pair last spring (in April ’08) — in a futile attempt to use the bare stems you can see in the picture as slight cover as I intruded on their togetherness.

These dabbling ducks are easily dismissed — particularly the females — as just another dull brown bird. But the real beauty of these ducks is appreciated only on close examination. Up close, or through good binoculars, you can see the female’s intricate herringbone pattern on her back, sides and flanks. Under higher magnification, the intricate lines on the male’s flanks are a wonder.

Does anyone know where they’ve gone, or what happened to the Asbridge’s Bay gad-abouts, er, gadwalls?

©BCP 2010

Posted in Ducks

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Monday, June 9, 2008

Mallard babies!

Posted in Ducks, Waterfowl

Mallard babies a few days old at Ashbridge's Bay

Great excitement today! I had completely given up hope of seeing any ducklings, goslings this spring at our Bay. I still maintain some hope, however slight, that the mute swans’ eggs might still hatch….

But as I was going around the back side of the park, which is to say, the lake side, not the bay side, as I came around past where the groundhogs live, there in Dog Bay I saw little brown specks being buffetted about in the waves near the shore. I had to take my sunglasses off and adjust my glasses to be sure. But as I came around the shore and took another hard look through my binoculars, my heart gave a leap. The little brown specks were, in fact, ducklings….Mallard babies, here in the park! I am surprised that they hatched so late in the season, but perhaps that is my lack of knowledge talking.

Tomorrow I will try to get down here again and try to get a pic of the little guys…Ten of them! Tiny little brown fluffballs being tossed about in the wind-whipped waves yesterday. I think I heard on the TV that the winds were high today. Actually, I just checked the weather and it says the winds were about 50 km/h this afternoon when I was out. It was extremely breezy. so much so that despite the unseasonably hot temps (over 30 with humidex making it feel like it was in the 40s), I was very cool while I was sitting on a rock on the lake side.

Canada geese check out a cormorant drying his wings in the afternoon sun

I’m betting anything there won’t be 10 ducklings left when I go back tomorrow to check on them. They disappear quickly. There are so many predators, including, I think, aerial enemies, like raptors and herons, and aquatic ones, like large fish. I’m not sure what else would enjoy a meal of fuzzy duckling, but there are lots of other creatures around — wild ones, like turtles and small mammals — and plenty of domesticated ones that are all too often not on a leash.

As far as the swan babies go — perhaps all of us who love the swans here will get lucky, and the Mrs. will soon have some cygnets to take care of.

I’m rooting for them.

©BCP 2010

Posted in Ducks, Waterfowl

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