Return to Kensington

In search of migratory ducks.

I dropped Yeti’s Boss off at the stable on Tuesday and headed to the Park, interested to see if any migratory ducks had dropped in yet for a visit on their way south.

When I stopped to get a picture of the clearing skies through the trees, I immediately drew the interest of this downy woodpecker.

She first eyed me from a nearby branch, then fluttered around, begging for a treat.

I rewarded her with a few choice sunflower seeds, snapped some pics and kept on going.  I could hear, then saw a Blue Jay scolding me. Then a northern flicker swooped up and started working an oak.  A nearby nuthatch descended another oak, upside down, as if descending the spiral staircase of a Danube fortress.

After about a mile I came to a small bridge and stopped to capture another picture.  Suddenly I was surrounded by small birds.  They seemed to suggest it was time for a midday snack, so I rested my backpack on a bed of oak leaves and held out a handful of seed.

This brave nuthatch was first to arrive, followed by a pair of chickadees and a tufted titmouse.

A parade of birds took turns until all the sunflower seeds were gone. The titmouse returned, but seemed puzzled that there were no more sunflower seeds.

He looked under and around my hand, then looked at me quizzically, asking why there were none left.  Turning up his beak at the smaller seeds he finally flew away with an air of disdain.

Now as I sit on bench, the lake shining off in the distance through the almost naked trees, another pair of chickadees has come to investigate.  I put down the keyboard and made another offering to these Bird Spirits.

I kept going around the lake, counterclockwise. The skies had cleared and the bright sky reflected off the water to the south. The direction of the light and the distance made it impossible to get a good ID of the many ducks.

I could see the ducks scattered in good numbers on the far side. Now with the sun at my back, they came into focus.

There were hundreds of them, rafting, drifting, paddling, dabbling and diving in the lake’s shallow water.

The usual suspects were easily named:  Mallards, Canadian Geese, Mute Swans and more mallards.  But mingling in with the mallards were some larger ducks with dark heads. And looking further out, there were many diving ducks.  I thought they might perhaps be coots, the way they were diving, but they were a bit bigger than coots. What were they? I had never seen so many.

I kept moving around the lake. Suddenly four dinosaur-like birds confronted me, blocking my path! Before I could get the camera ready, one charged me, spreading his wings out and hissing! I retreated, got out the IPhone, then switched to video.

It is forbidden to feed these Sandhill Cranes. They were too proud to beg. They let me pass.

It was time to pick up the Brilliant Horsewoman. I kicked my pace up a notch headed to the car, passing a serious photographer sitting on the boardwalk with his fancy gear.

“Hi there!” I ventured. Any idea what all those black ducks are out there? They’re diving like coots, but a bit bigger and they don’t have those funny bills like the coots?”

“Don’t know,” he replied. “Somebody said there were Ring necks coming in.”

“OK great thanks! Looks like I better come back tomorrow!”

TO BE CONTINUED~!

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Sneak slo-mo video from tomorrow’s post:

Thanks so much for traveling along~! We’re glad you’re here! And thanks for all the wonderful comments and ideas on yesterday’s post. I am SO honored we have such an intelligent, diverse and interesting community here, from all over the world~!