|
Every spring we get
a few broods of Mallard ducklings in the lagoon in the courtyard
of our building. This year they started appearing at the beginning
of May. Naturally, I like to take photos of the cute little guys.
Here, from the 2nd
of May, is our first momma with six of her ten little ones.
|
|
 |
| Three of
them found a nice big rock to sit and sun themselves on; they seemed
pretty happy about it. |
|
 |
| But then
everyone wanted to join in, and it got a little crowded for them. |
|
 |
|
I guess when you're
a duckling, it's hard to keep the good spots for yourself.
I didn't have much
time to photograph them on the 2nd, and the group shots were the
only good ones I got.
On the 3rd, I had more
time. There were nine ducklings left; one had been lost overnight.
Occasionally, one or two of them would get up on the sidewalk
that runs around the lagoon. I tried to get some close-up walking
and standing shots of them when they did that. Here's two of those
shots.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
| I also caught
this darker-colored one sitting on rocky edge to the lagoon. He's
such a cutie. |
|
 |
| I got lots
of shots of the ducklings doing various things; here one is tending
to his downy coat. |
|
 |
| And this
one is drinking water. Most birds don't have the ability to suck
water up their bills, so they have to scoop up water in their bill
and then lift it up so the water runs down their throat. This guy
is in the scooping part of the operation. |
|
 |
| Momma Duck
was nearby, supervising her brood from a position in the pansies.
I had to compliment her on her choice of location; the colorful
flowers nicely set off her more muted, elegant plumage. |
|
 |
|
One of the things that
I've always wondered about is where ducklings come from. When
I turned around and found these two quackers where none had been
just a few seconds ago, I think I finally figured it out.
|
|
 |
| Those two
came steaming over towards me, and one of them gave me a little
bill-lifted salute. |
|
 |
|
But alas, work was
waiting for me, and so I had to leave the little birds and get
on down the road. That was pretty difficult, as they're really
cute and have a lot of personality. I could watch ducklings all
day.
On the 4th, the numbers
were smaller again: only five were left. I was again stopping
to take photos before heading to work, and didn't have much time.
The dark duckling was still around, and I got a few good shots
of him.
|
|
 |
|
That photo actually
raised some interesting questions for me. First, do ducklings
like standing on potatoes? And second, what's a potato doing in
the lagoon, anyway? Maybe my birder friends will know the answer
to the first one.
There was a male Mallard
present on the lagoon that day, too. He didn't seem to associate
much with the female or children.
|
|
 |
| I saw some
ducklings go around in the lagoon to the front of the building,
and so I laid down at a spot where the sun would be hitting them
from a good direction when they came back. By laying down I was
able to get shots that were almost eye-level on them, like this
one. |
|
 |
| Aiming and
adjusting the camera isn't easy while lying down, though. For this
next shot, I had raised up a little, and the bird was a litlte further
away. This gave a bit more of a downward angle. He's checking out
some of the floating debris, seeing if it's edible. |
|
 |
| That was
all from before work, but I did get some more shots when I came
home. This one turned out particularly well. |
|
 |
| Now, as
it turns out, ducklings weren't my only subject on those three days.
On the 2nd of May, after some meetings in Burnaby, I went out to
Piper Spit. There I found this interesting Rock Dove, who had some
brown feathers on his wings. |
|
 |
|
Rock doves are one
of the exceptions in the bird world: they can actually drink with
their head down. It's a good thing, too, because they drink alot—much
more than other birds. The fact that Rock Doves drink a lot probably
explains another aspect of their behaviour: they tend to sit around
in groups in public places during the day, rather than going to
work. A lot of humans who drink a lot have the same tendency.
As I went out the spit,
I found this distinguished country gentleman, who was keeping
guard as his wife tipped up. The gentleman is a domestic Mallard;
domestics' plumage is different from the usual, wild variety:
you can compare this guy to the male five photos back.
|
|
 |
| There was
also a little Pied-billed Grebe near the spit. He was on the sunward
side, and so I wasn't able to get any properly-lit photos of him. |
|
 |
| The treat
of the outing was a female Wood Duck. Normally, Wood Ducks are quite
shy, but this one came up fairly close to me, both while swimming... |
|
 |
| ... and
while on land. |
|
 |
|
Those were probably
the best, closest shots I've gotten of female Woodies. I was pretty
happy.
Now, the spit just
wouldn't be the spit without a few squirrels hanging around, now
would it?
|
|
 |
|
I caught that guy on
my way out.
On the 3rd, I had only
one subject other than the ducklings, which was a three-year-old
Bald Eagle circling over Douglas College in New Westminster. I
pulled my car over on the way to work to take photos.
|
|
 |
| On the 4th,
my other subjects were felines in the courtyard. Here's one handsome
fellow I spotted up on a third-floor balcony. I'd never seen this
kitty before. |
|
 |
|
And it must have been
my day for unfamiliar kitties, as I found this one perched on
a rock at the edge of the lagoon.
|
|
 |
|
I took a lot of photos
of that cat, because, well, first off, he was a cat, and second,
the reflections of him in the water were pretty interesting. But
after watching him and his reflection for a while, I got pretty
confused about which was which.
|
|
 |
|
There were also a couple
of kitties who I know hanging around the courtyard. Here's Sonic,
the cat who frequently visits me and Zippy at my place.
|
|
 |
|
And here's Sandy, who
lives with my friend Gerry. Sandy is pretty timid and I had to
get this photo from all the way across the lagoon. Whenever I
get any closer, he runs away. He's a true scaredy-cat.
|
|
 |
|
But sometimes I take
care of him and his pal Smudge, and when I have I'm generally
able to pet him, but only while he's safely under the bed.
Anyhow, that was all
from the 4th. I hope you enjoyed the ducklings, and my other early
May subjects, as much as I did.
Your friend who has
never stood on a potato,
Tom
|
|