(Photos: 1-- "Sitting ducks" at Harlem Meer on a chilly night. 2-- Sitting goose, seemingly a bit startled with all the ducks.)
Last night, the balmy 25 degree temperature felt almost like spring compared to the night before.
I wasn't sure what to expect when arriving to Harlem Meer.
Would the lake be largely iced over considering the temperature had plunged to 13 degrees on Tuesday and was still below freezing?
Would the geese and ducks be "hunkering down" as most were the night before?
Would I again have to walk around the entire lake to find Brad, Piggly and Wiggly?
I tried not to have any expectations because as noted, nothing is truly predictable from one day to the next. -- Especially with the "up and down," weird weather we have been having in New York City over the past few months. Through brutally cold for a couple of days, this past fall and the beginning of winter have so far, been far warmer than normal.
Nevertheless, I was in for more than one surprise last night.
The first surprise was that the lake was mostly unfrozen, except for a fairly small section towards the east. (An area the ducks and geese usually don't frequent.)
The second surprise was that many of the geese and ducks were congregated along the south embankment!
Indeed, I did not have to look for the "Bradly Brigade" at all.
It was as though they and Buster and a whole lot of other ducks and geese decided that clustering together was a good way to ward off the cold.
"Hail, hail, the gang's all here!"
Though obviously more comfortable with the mid-twenties temperatures and lighter winds, the geese and mallards were still chilled.
Many of them sat down to conserve body heat when on the ground.
Quickly snapping a couple of photos of the "sitting" ducks and geese, I thought the scene gave new meaning to the old adage, "sitting ducks" and perhaps this actually explained the phrases' origin?
I tried to remember back to last year.
Although I recall seeing the occasional "sitting duck" (or goose) last winter, it seems more of a common phenomenon this year.
Is that because, due to the warmer than normal temperatures, the geese and ducks simply weren't physically prepared for the sudden cold blast?
That seems to be true for humans. Certainly, I wasn't prepared physically for sudden zero wind chills and mid teens temperatures.
Only last week, temperatures in NYC were in the mid 50's. People were walking around in sweaters and some joggers were running shirtless!
Less than a week later, one is having to don full winter gear and (at least at night) there is nary a jogger to be seen at all!
It seems the body gets used to one thing and then it is suddenly something else! What is a body to do?
Perhaps that quandary is true for wildlife, as well as it is for humans?
Again, remembering back to last year (and 2010), Harlem Meer was half frozen over by mid December and entirely iced over by early January (with the exception of the tiny pool of water kept open by Brad and a few other ducks and geese).
This year, the entire lake is still liquid and even the small section that iced over in the past couple of days can be expected to melt in the next few.
This has resulted in most the resident and many migratory geese and ducks electing to stay at Harlem Meer (and the other unfrozen ponds and lakes of CP) as opposed to being forced to move to the Reservoir or flying south.
As for the question of why the Meer didn't freeze over during the two days of sub-freezing temperatures?
Two days isn't long enough for the ponds and lakes to completely ice over and additionally, there are many mallards and geese at the Meer right now. The constant swimming, dunking and diving of so much waterfowl on the watercourse helps to prevent icing.
So, more questions raised last night.
But, at least one was (I think) answered.
The origin of the phrase, "sitting ducks." -- PCA
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