Water Wars

The nesting season is fast upon us. Water birds are paired up and searching for sites. Canada Geese were first to scout our pond, which is uninviting, inasmuch as all but one resident has fencing up to both safeguard children and keep the geese at bay. 

Many people think the fence keeps the geese off the lawn by being a barrier to getting on it. They are wrong, as they can easily fly in and out for much of the year. It actually keeps them off the lawn because they know that when they are flightless in the molting season and when there may be young ones to shepherd who cannot fly, they will be unable to escape a predator on the lawn by running into the water. They often seem quite dumb, but they are smart enough to foresee a problem that is weeks away.

A greater deterrent can be swans. If they choose a spot like our small pond to nest, they will keep all geese and other interlopers away. A gorgeous pair showed up two days ago and today were treated by our neighbor to a luxurious direct handout of feed at the waterside. The pair later drifted off the sleep, a sign they may feel comfortable enough to consider nesting. A few hours later, the two Canada Geese which have been scouting recently arrived. In minutes were driven off by the male swan.

It will be interesting to see if nesting occurs since the swans have the same issues as the geese, but might be accommodated by building a platform nest on a downed tree over the water -- not something the geese are likely to do. We shall see.

Meanwhile, the dozen or so mallards that have appeared in recent weeks are scuffling. If past action holds, they will work their way down to a single pair in the next month or two. It will nest nearby. One year I exited the back door to find a nest with a female on it just a foot from the doorway, in plain sight but nestled against the foundation and unobtrusive in the surrounding colors. 

A lone Hooded Merganser joined the gulls fishing this morning. I watched a herring gull land and snatch 4-5 inch fish yesterday. Hard to tell if the fish are just lethargic in cold water or what -- gulls seem to have pretty good success on top water or just a few inches down. In any case, there is plenty of fish attraction happening; two Great Blue Herons eyed each other across the pond on Friday afternoon.

 

C-O-L-D

A glance at the resident Great Blue Heron here tells the early February story: c-o-l-d.
Long Island's coldest nights just passed, with temps in single digits; something we don't get down on the coast very often. Odds are that will be the worst of the season inasmuch as we just passed the middle of winter, on the calendar anyway.
The weatherman calls for above average daytime temps for the next several days, starting with an out of line 50-plus by Sunday, then dropping back to 40s.

Just before the cold snap I stepped onto the deck and heard a familiar cackling in the night sky. Looking up, a dozen or so snow geese circled a few hundred feet overhead, working north in a haphazard, rotating kettle. They could be migrating, or just working across their winter grounds. The guide books say they start north in February, but Feb 2 seemed just too strictly by the clock.

Out in the yard, the winter players are pretty much unchanged except for their appetites. Niger loads go down in inches each day and the jostling to get at seed on the ground can be fierce. Both the deep cold and advancing nesting season are driving them. I noticed today that the opening on a sparrow tree house we have is being made larger; keeping watch to see if it isn't the red-bellied woodpecker deciding on its 2009 abode.

Ice covers most of the pond, but both the heron and attendant black-backed gulls know there is still food to be had. I watched a big gull; (almost a 5-foot wingspan) take a 6-inch fish from an open water area this week. The heron can be spotted standing on an ice edge glaring at one of two small areas of water in evidence this week.