Yesterday, Feb. 26, after searching around the Pond, I finally found the
Northern Pintail male that's been at the Pond for the winter. He was
sleeping in the dark part of the Pond and had not come in earlier with
the other ducks for tourists feeding them like he used to. A (the) Great
Blue Heron wasn't far, also towards the west side of the south part of
the Pond. A (the) male Wood Duck was under the bridge and a (the)
American Coot was swimming around. In addition, there were the usual
Mallards, Black Ducks, Muscovy and domestic duck derivatives.
This morning, I returned around 9 am, and the Pintail was in the same
area, swimming, dabbling and drinking. After I had been there for about
10 minutes, he went back to sleep. Hoping that he had moved for better
photos, since I was still in the neighborhood, I returned about 2 hours
later, and I could no longer find him anywhere on the Pond. He is now in
full breeding plumage, complete with a nice long pin-tail. I am curious
if anyone sees him again in the park, or whether he's left. The rest of
the duck and Canada Goose population down there seems about the same as
yesterday, and, if possible, is all paired off (there is a significant
excess of males). For those who have followed the mottly duck population
down there, the very pale vocal hybrid was mating with a male Mallard
this morning (so, she is a female).
Ardith Bondi
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