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Summer's End
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We as humans generally mark the end of summer by the calendar.
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I realize the end of summer by the startling changes in waterfowl behavior.
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Shift goes from staking out territories, raising young in some cases and generally taking it easy over the summer to suddenly becoming conscious of the scarcities in winter and the need to "calorie load" during the fall.
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Fall is the time of year geese and ducks frequently take to the air in search of the best feeding sites -- a tendency generally known as "pond hopping" though there is nothing random or playful about it.
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Its actually serious business.
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There is dramatic increase in appetites of geese and ducks as they strive to build fat layers to help keep warm and sustain them through the winter.
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During times of storms, snow and mostly frozen lakes, food sources become scarce and birds need to depend upon fat reserves and hunker down through the worst of weather. They can often go days or even weeks with barely any food.
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According to the Farmer's Almanac, this coming winter is predicted to be unusually bitter and stormy for New York City.
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But, it seems the geese and ducks already got that memo.
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Labor Day isn't even here yet and the birds have already begun the all important calorie loading.
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Numbers fluctuate around Central Park as wild geese and ducks "come and go" from the various watercourses, trying to grab whatever they can while they can. Any barley or cracked corn tossed to them by humans during this time vanishes within seconds.
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So, while others may mark the end of summer by the Labor Day weekend (or more technically, Sept 21) I realize summer's end by heightened vocalizations and "pond hopping" activities among geese and ducks and most significantly, increased, voracious appetites.
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Its time to gather and pack on for those sparton days ahead -- even though they're at least three to four months down the pike.
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Even the domestic ducks "get" that.
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Cochise, Conner, Connie and Carol -- The Domestic (Harlem Meer) Ducks Map their Strategies.
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It is not clear exactly how the domestic (flightless) ducks understand the measures they need to take in fall (such as calorie loading) to help insure their survival over the winter -- but they do.
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Perhaps they pick up this information from the flocks of noisy, constantly communicating mallards they typically hang with.
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Though the vocalizations of the two duck species are quite different in tone and cadence, (the domestics are really loud!) perhaps there are enough commonalities to at least aid in basic understanding. Or, the domestic ducks pick up clues from mallards through body language and behavioral shifts.
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Over the past week or two, the four domestic ducks at Harlem Meer have begun to branch out more in terms of moving away from the protected area near the Dana Center to graze in other locations around the lake.
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Unlike the mallards who can fly to different areas around the park to "calorie load," the domestics only have access to those areas they can actually swim to.
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Like the mallards however, the domestics are far more vocal now and appear to be mapping out their strategies for survival during the challenging months ahead.
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Having been abandoned to Harlem Meer last November, the domestics have one winter under their belt and likely have good anticipation now on what to expect and prepare for.
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Unlike last winter however, they no longer have the expertise, experience and leadership of Wiggly and Honker (the other two domestic ducks), who helped to guide and show them the ropes last winter. (Both, Wiggly and Honker were lost this spring to likely dog attacks.)
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Much remains to be seen on what exactly this winter will bring.
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If (as predicted by the Farmer's Almanac), it is a particularly severe winter and the lake freezes over, the domestic ducks could be in for a very rough time as mallards and any geese present over the winter, have option to leave in search of open water. The domestics do not have that option and are resigned to take whatever winter has to dish out at Harlem Meer.
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One thing for sure: The domestics will need to be very robust and strong in order to endure and "work the water" to help prevent it from freezing over this winter.
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And no one is more aware of -- and making preparations for that fact -- than they are.
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Mister Mister and the Challenges of Broken Wing
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One other duck who will also not have power of wing to leave should things get rough at the Meer this winter is "Mister Mister" -- the mallard drake with a broken wing.
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I called Park Rangers about Mister when discovering his broken wing this past spring.
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Rangers told me they looked for the injured mallard several times for rescue, but "could not find" him.
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This was odd considering there were few mallards at the Meer over the spring and Mister stood out like a sore thumb. (Nevertheless, the tendency of mallards to sometimes hide out in marshes during the spring can make them difficult to spot -- especially when blending into their surroundings.)
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Now, there are many mallards at the Meer and trying to find Mister in the large group is sometimes even hard for me.
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I was not gravely concerned for Mister's survival over the spring and summer as obviously, ducks without flight capability are able to survive during the warm months. Indeed, ducks and geese normally go through a (flightless) molting period during the summer when old flight feathers drop off and new ones grow in.
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But, like the domestics ducks, Mister could be in for rough challenges over the winter -- especially if the lake freezes over and his flock leaves.
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Mister has compensated for his wing injury by becoming extremely fast and adept of foot.
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Since he is "different and compromised" Mister unfortunately holds a low place and status in flock order. He is frequently picked on and chased by other mallards. But, Mister is extremely fast and able to dart away from anticipated attacks.
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Unfortunately, that "quickness of foot" can and will most likely make Mister very difficult to rescue even though he cannot fly. -- And rescue could become necessary over an unusually frigid winter.
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For the moment, I am simply keeping a close eye on Mister and working to gain his trust should rescue and treatment for his broken wing become absolutely necessary during the months ahead.
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Cago -- The Goose Living as a Duck
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I realize I am becoming too attached to Cago (the Canada goose who arrived at Harlem Meer alone in late June after most likely surviving a USDA goose cull that otherwise wiped out her family).
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Cago has completely endeared herself to me over these past few months.
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Perhaps it is because of realizing Cago's likely circumstances and tragic family loss.
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Or perhaps it is because of observing her courageous efforts to deal with loss and at the same time "adapt" to living unnaturally without a mate or flock of her own kind.
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Or, perhaps it's because Cago and I have simply developed a sweet relationship of trust, recognition and respect over the past few months.
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Cago knows me, comes to me, takes treats from my hand, allows me to pet her and even follows and says "good-bye" to me when I leave Harlem Meer each evening.
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Its hard not to become attached under those circumstances.
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I have watched and hoped that Cago might have assimilated and been accepted into any of the small flocks of geese that have flown into the Meer since the molt period ended.
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But, none of the visiting or "pond hopping" geese stayed long enough for that to occur.
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I was particularly hopeful that when "Toluse" (an injured gander) arrived to the Meer and Cago welcomed and looked after him, that the two would bond and form a mated pair.
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But, Toluse healed within a matter of days and (as expected) then took off to find his own family again.
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Once again, left behind, Cago appeared a bit down for a few days, but quickly rebounded as at this point, Cago seems to know the score.
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Finding a new mate or flock is not actually as easy or simple as it might seem.
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No one is more aware of that reality than Cago.
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But, what will fall and winter hold for this goose who, for all intensive purposes, has seemed to "become a duck" over the past few months?
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Cago is not a duck and knows she is not a duck. Nor, will Cago ever be a duck.
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For the time being, Cago lives as a duck, while also holding on to the hope and anticipation that somewhere down the line, there will be a gander or small flock of geese that will stay long enough for assimilation and bonding to occur.
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Who knows? Perhaps over the coming months, there will be geese who will look to the experience and "expertise" of Cago to help guide them through the challenges of Harlem Meer in winter.
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The problem is, if she stays, winter at Harlem Meer will also be a new experience for Cago.
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But, having survived so much already, one suspects Cago, -- more than any other bird -- will know exactly what to do. -- PCA
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