The ducks are
back in our yard. They are a Mallard
couple – a glossy-green headed male and his slightly smaller brown-speckled
mate. The pairing, or other identical
duos, has made brief cameo appearance on our property every spring for the past
several years.
It’s kind of
curious that they choose our front lawn as a stopping off point. The only nearby body of water is “Folly
Brook” – a nearly invisible streamlet which runs underground somewhere in the
vicinity of our house. Town lore tells
us that that the creek was the result of an unsuccessful attempt in 1726 to
reroute another small stream, named "Beaver Brook" that also flows in
this general area. A derisive public began calling the failed aqua-engineering
project "the Folly”. Today there is
considerable confusion as to what's “Folly” and what’s “Beaver” – but by any
name neither rivulet is of insufficient volume to be of interest to water
birds.
Nor to be a
source of danger, or even concern.
Nonetheless in
2007 part of the neighborhood in which Mars and I live was declared a flood
zone. Following Hurricane Katrina
several public and private agencies were apparently stunned to discover that
the city of New Orleans, built below sea level, was in a perilous position
vis-à-vis its aquatic surroundings.
(Who'd'a' thunk it?)
So the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was tasked with redefining flood
regions. Now there is more flood land
then ever in the U.S. of A – and some of it is right here in our own back (and
front) yard. Yet none of us who live in
the area can see any encroaching h2o when we look out of our windows – nor
is any of it lapping at the foundations of our residences
Although I am
not sure whether the duck’s first appearance was pre or post Katrina, I doubt
that aquatic fowl follow the ebb and flow of governmental environmental
classifications looking for tips on prospective locations at which to hang out.
Several years
back – again not sure if it was pre or post Katrina – a family of Mallards
actually did nest in one of the bushes in front of a nearby neighbor’s house –
ironically just over the border from the newly proclaimed flood area. They were first discovered when Ed was
trimming his shrubbery, and were left in peace for the duration. There is a pond about one quarter mile away
and at the appropriate time in the development of the quacklings they were
dutifully led down the street, across another – and into the park containing
that small body of still water. Perhaps
it is a member of that family that visits our neck of the woods each year.
While the
birds do not find sufficient water for their purposes on our grounds, they do
find food – most of it in the form of
kernels of corn that are dropped to the ground by squirrels dining at their
“Picnic Table Feeder” which is attached to one of the oaks trees along our
front border. For some reason the furry
tailed rodents are unwilling to eat the golden colored food nuggets once they
are detached from the ear. The Mallards
however are quite happy to ingest the cast-aside orts from the squirrel’s
hastily consumed meals. In fact, if it
were not for the transient arrivals of the ducks, and some passing-by grackles,
the above ground portion of the tree’s roots would permanently be buried in
maize droppings.
Or maybe the
answer to the ducks’ mysterious appearances simply lies in the nature of the
breed itself. As explained by Wikipedia
– “The mallard (/?mæl?rd/ or /?mæl?rd/) or wild duck (Anas platyrhynchos) is a
dabbling duck…which feed mainly at the surface rather than by diving.”
According to about.com, they “also forage on land for seeds and insects.”
I could
undoubtedly find out more detailed information about the behavior of these
non-diving waterfowl with considerably more research – but I’m really only
interested in tinkering with this topic in a casual or superficial way.
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