Rainy, calm and mild
69
On many rainy days while
working on this blog, I find myself wandering over to Iona Island Marsh. On many days, it is dependent upon the
tide as to what birds you’ll find working the flats. A good deal of work has recently gone into restoring native
vegetation and removal of phragmites in an attempt to lure what use to be here
back to these environs.
While the habitat looks
so much better and so much more attractive for birds like rails, marsh wrens,
and ducks, the results have been certainly short of stellar. But, that being said, it takes time to
restore habitat and time for the birds to rediscover it. With that in mind, today was a turn in
the right direction.
We always expect to find
mallards in the marsh, but what made today special was the number of pairs we
found with males in bright breeding plumage. After all, this is the season in which males and females
will pair up. Some of the males
seen today were rising up out of the water, flapping their wings, and whistling
and grunting. The males will no
doubt follow the females to the breeding grounds when the time comes.
Along with the mallards were
several Black ducks. These ducks look
quite similar to the female mallards, but they are darker and have a bright
yellow bill, lacking the mottling seen on the bills of female mallards. These ducks tend to stick around during
the winter and are known to remain on territory further north than most
migratory ducks.
Finally, while not a
duck, the best sighting of the day was an American coot. These ducks are not all that rare here
in Orange County in the fall, but they have been hard to find here at Iona in
the past. Perhaps the new look of
the marsh is enough to begin enticing more of these “rail-like” birds back to
these grounds. Let’s hope so!
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