Time to Rock 'n Roll!

I could have rung his neck last night!

 

I am talking about Brad, the ringleader of the three duckateers at Harlem Meer.

 

But. more about that later......

 

Most of the migratory geese have left Central Park to return to their breeding places far north.

 

It was especially exciting a few nights ago to be at Harlem Meer when several goose families took off from the water, presumably for their lengthy journeys back to Canada.

 

They are like planes taking off in intervals from an airport.

 

First, there is the revving up engines.  (Lots of honking before takeoff.)

 

Then there is the taxiing around runway. (The geese usually fly a few circles around watercourse before actually leaving.)

 

And finally there is the seemingly orchestrated and highly systematic takeoffs of the geese in skeins of about 6 to 10 each in intervals of ten or fifteen minutes.

 

A totally mesmerizing event to observe.   I considered myself very fortunate to have been able to witness the migratory geese taking off on their wondrous, but extremely daunting journeys.

 

May God be with and protect them......

 

Despite the departing migratorys, Harlem Meer is not empty of its goose population.

 

Buster and his gaggle are still there as are several other goose families. 

 

I am guessing that at this point, all or most are resident geese of New York City. 

 

Most will try to stay at Harlem Meer until they are either harassed out or elect to return to whatever locations they attempt to nest or molt over the summer.

 

(As previously noted, Harlem Meer is not a desirable area for goose nesting and raising young.   Too much human activity and fishing over the summer in addition to a lack of suitable cover for protection of nests and goslings.)

 

I suspect Buster and his gaggle will soon leave Harlem Meer as most or all of the remaining geese. 

 

There were however, nine (very spooked and nervous) geese who molted at the Meer last summer.  It will be interesting to see if the shy nine return, though its possible all the human activity and fishing might have been too unnerving for them.  I always suspected the spazzed geese arriving at the Meer last June were lucky escapees (because they could still fly) from a USDA goose roundup occurring elsewhere in the city.   They appeared to be highly traumatized animals.  Everything made the geese jump and they spent most of the six weeks of molting huddled in the middle of the lake.

 

The geese who are at the Meer now mostly stay within their individual gaggles or in some cases, are starting to pair off.

 

Many of the mallards are already paired off.

 

And then of course there are the squabbles of mating and territory that occur among the waterfowl this time of year.

 

"Time to rock and roll" as the saying goes.  Lots of duckie "barroom brawls" happening now, none of which are quiet or subdued.  Mallards can be quite aggressive and raucous when their hormones are in full gear.

 

Speaking of "hormones in gear," I don't know what the story was with the Bradley Brigade last night.  But for the first time in many months, I could not find Brad and his two charges, Piggly and Wiggly when arriving to the Meer and it sent me into a borderline panic.

 

No matter where they are on the lake, the Bradley Brigade always come running when I arrive at the Meer every night regardless of time or weather.

 

When the three flightless, "barnyard" ducks failed to show up at all, my mind began to race in all kinds of dire scenarios.  

 

So, like a total fool, I walked all around the lake with my two dogs to search for them.

 

But, there was no sign of Brad, Piggly or Wiggly!

 

Where can they be?  What could have happened?   Did some ruthless, horrible people grab them for dinner as what happened to two of the three Pekin ducks two summers ago?  Oh, why couldn't these ducks be rescued and taken to a country farm to live out their lives in peace?

 

By the time I completed a full circle around the lake,  a thousand questions were running through my head.

 

But, then, there they were!  Right at the spot I usually feed them!

 

Brad, Piggly and Wiggly immediately came running to me, their eyes wide open and their mouths quacking off a mile a minute.

 

"WHERE the hell were you?  We've been waiting here and there are no seeds for us! Are you going to let us STARVE?"

 

Oh yes, I wanted to RING Brad's bright green neck last night -- the little ingrate!

 

But, instead, I whipped out several hand fulls of black oiled sunflower seeds (his favorite) and Brad quickly scooped them from my hand.   His two greedy counterparts quickly grabbed whatever seeds fell to the ground.

 

After a few minutes, all three ducks returned to their now spring time antics of throwing their weight around and dishing out orders to the mallards.

 

Brad is so big now, I think he could easily take on a goose -- as Piggly already has. In fact, the two male ducks constantly engage in "discussions" now, presumably on how to intimidate every bird at the Meer.

 

I expect any day now that Brad and Piggly will whip out swords while Wiggly scoots around wiggling her booty and looking cute.

 

"The three duckateers."

 

But, last night, I could have rung three duck necks.

 

Such a fright they gave me.

 

Me running all around the lake like a fool, while the three duckateers were off rocking and rolling somewhere.

 

"It should be your heads that roll!"  I admonished to the Bradley Brigade last night when finally leaving the Meer.

 

But, they weren't listening.  Nor did they bother to escort me out as they usually do.

 

Brad was chasing one mallard in the water, while Piggly pecked another and Wiggly sauntered around on the grass with her butt proudly in the air.

 

Drum and guitar rolls, please.   Spring is here.  Time to rock 'n roll! --PCA

 

 

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