A flock of ring-necked ducks (Aythya collaris) kept me company this morning as I manned the bridge. There were twelve of them: three females and nine males, all busy swimming and diving in the cold dark water of the canal. Every once in a while, on some signal only they could perceive, they would all take up at once and fly off. It didn't take long for them to find their way back though. Must be a fairly reasonable amount of food available for them here. Ring-necked ducks eat mostly vegetable matter with perhaps an occasional tasty little crustacean on the side.
We are expecting temperatures in the single to low double digits tonight - the ducks may be ice skating tomorrow ;)
5 comments:
Bridge duty?
I wondered about bridge duty too. The job must be just ducky, however.
FC and AC,
Yes, we have a bridge at the park. It is a draw bridge of sorts and relies on hydraulics to open and close. This week is my week to open each morning at 7:00 to let the construction crews across. So, for about an hour each morning, it's just me (and the ducks) opening and closing the bridge. The rest of the staff comes in at 8:00 and we switch out bridge operators after everyone gets settled in.
Shoot. AC got my line - "just ducky".
Those are very sweet ducks, though.
I didn't realize our frigid air was making it all the way into your neighborhood. Sorry 'bout that.
Cathy,
Yep, AC is a quick fellow!
As for the cold air -- we'd be happy to send it back ;) Lows in the single digits and highs in the 30s are not exactly "normal" for us. At least the canal hasn't frozen over - too windy for that.
Post a Comment