While there was no big bad wolf to be seen, Lisa (Micro of the Macro) and I were surprised by feet of this American Coot. Besides the size and color, they look segmented. I’ve seen lots of coots at the Preserve and probably some old coots but as they’ve always been swimming, I’ve never seen the feet of any of them. This one was standing on a log usually occupied by ducks or turtles enabling us to see its feet.
“Wild ducks in North America are divided into two broad groups: the dabblers or paddle ducks, and the divers.”
― Anonymous
Most people come to the Preserve to see the birds but at this time of year, there aren’t nearly as many and there aren’t as many kinds. There are plenty of ducks, though, either dabblers or divers. This handsome male ring-necked duck falls into the diving category although at the Preserve where in one lake you’re allowed to feed the birds, the minute you walk onto the bridge, the flotilla heads towards you at top speed expecting goodies. I’m always a disappointment to them.
I believe this to be a sort of exorcist mallard, its head turned around while resting. (I never saw the movie, but I do know her head spins around at some point. His does not.) Forward or backward, he sports such lovely, deep colors on his head. Mallards are dabblers, going after food in the iconic duck-bottom-up pose. To see a group of them doing that makes me smile every time. 🙂 See?
“In terms of habitat, ducks can be found anywhere that is wet.”
― Victoria de Rijke, Duck
This trip I finally saw a female ring-necked duck (although I can’t really detect a ring on either of them). Her coloring isn’t as dramatic as the male’s but she looks more soft and mother-y, don’t you think? I can see ducklings following her or pushing up under her wings while dad’s sharp eye watches for danger. This is the first time I noticed the little hook at the end of the beak, too. The better to snag something to eat, my dear.
“Be like a duck, paddling and working very hard inside the water, but what everyone sees is a smiling and calm face.”
― Manoj Arora, From the Rat Race to Financial Freedom
I think her face looks calm although I doubt she’s worried about financial freedom. But who knows? I can’t pretend to know what a duck thinks. I do think that this is the end of this post. I hope you’re having fun dabbling in this and that today or perhaps are diving into something you really enjoy (hopefully not your food.) I’m going to duck out to do some dabbling a/o diving of my own. Enjoy Wednesday!
Although this has nothing to do with my photo of the heron, I was SO excited to find when I scheduled this post that WP has finally brought back a way to tell whether you have a post scheduled for a certain day! There’s now a small dot below each date that has a post, whether already out or scheduled. Finally!! My scheduling life has just gotten much easier. Dan, you’ll appreciate my joy because I’ve mentioned this lack to you more than once where we’re commiserating about WP issues. 🙂
Happy Tuesday to all of you!
I know it’s rude to watch someone while they’re eating, and even worse, take photos, but sometimes I just can’t help myself. I caught this snowy egret mid-gulp and nope, I don’t feel bad about it at all.
Snowy egret or great egret? Egret or heron? If you’re not sure which egret is which, as I wasn’t, the site linked above lets you compare types side-by-side, which is really helpful. The snowy egret has a dark beak with yellow at the top and by the eyes as well as yellow feet, which you can’t see here. The great egret has a yellow-orange bill and is much larger. But I didn’t know that egrets are also herons. Did you?
And did you know snowy egrets were once more precious than gold? The allaboutbirds site says:
During the breeding season, adult Snowy Egrets develop long, wispy feathers on their backs, necks, and heads. In 1886 these plumes were valued at $32 per ounce, which was twice the price of gold at the time. Plume-hunting for the fashion industry killed many Snowy Egrets and other birds until reforms were passed in the early twentieth century. The recovery of shorebird populations through the work of concerned citizens was an early triumph and helped give birth to the conservation movement.
Talk about killer fashion! Makes me even happier to see crowds of these fashion leaders now at the Riparian Preserve!
After several trips to the Riparian Preserve, I’d seen a variety of birds and lots of egrets, but no herons. Then one day I glanced to my right as I passed one of the lakes and there he was, Mr. GBH. Sylvia at anotherday2paradise and I joke about Mr GBH (Great Blue Heron) as she calls hers. I told her that from my reading of British mysteries/thrillers, I think of GBH as “grievous bodily harm.” I’m sure that’s the interpretation the fish put on those initials!
This, that and the other thing 