Day 143: May 22nd- Ducks on the pond

Cool, mid 60s, overcast with periods of rain

       Rainy weather is often referred to as “Good weather if you’re a duck!”.  And so, Sharon and I decided to play along with that old adage and check out a couple of duck ponds in the nearby area.  We had reports of both a leucistic mallard duck and Snow goose at Downing Park in Newburgh.  Both would make interesting shots for the blog we decided and so moved out to see what we could come up with.

       A condition of leucism refers to an abnormality in the pigmentation of an animal which causes that critter to lack certain coloration.  In other words, it looks partially white.  An albino would be completely white with pink eyes and that is not the case with leucistic animals.  When we arrived, I immediately spotted a mallard-like duck which had a mottled white and brown coloration, possibly our target bird. 

       Later, at Ring Sands Pond in Cornwall, I found another duck with a similar scheme but was also crested.  There are a number of “domestic” ducks which are descended from mallards and which freely interbreed with the rather promiscuous mallard.  I began to think and do now believe that our hoped for leucistic duck was actually a mallard hybrid.  I may be wrong, but that’s my best guess right now.

       All was not lost, however, as Sharon spotted the second target, the Snow goose, sitting on the far side of the pond.  We did a quick U-turn and headed back into the park where we hoped for a close look.  There is plenty of pedestrian traffic in Downing Park and the goose was only slightly cautious of my presence.  Thankfully, I had the 40mm lens on my camera and did not need to approach beyond the bird’s comfort zone.  Examining the photos I shot, I determined that his is a first year bird.  He still has a fair amount of a grayish wash along his neck which will eventually disappear as he matures.  So, for Downing Park we batted .500.

       Heading back through Cornwall, I decided to check out the ducks on the rainy day.   Mallards and Canada geese were the waterfowl most abundant, but there were several more of the strange looking domestic/mallard crosses in the mix.  One was especially interesting as it had what appeared to be a cotton ball stuck to the top of its head.  There are a number of these crested ducks found in barnyards and these are more than likely either escapees or descendants of other escapees and mallards.

       One more sighting was really a match for the Snow goose as far as the pix of the day.  As I photographed the ducks and geese, I noticed a bright red head on a fairly large bird pecking at the base of a tree stump.  Checking it out with the telephoto, I realized that it was a Pileated woodpecker. 

       I’ve never seen one standing on the ground and pecking the base of a tree stump before and had to snap off a few shots before it lost interest and flew off. 

       All in all, it was a pretty productive day for one filled with clouds, rain and fog.  Hopefully, this weather will begin to clear for tomorrow.