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The four flightless, domestic ducks at Harlem Meer in Central Park are alive and healthy.
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But it wouldn't be honest to say they are entirely OK.
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I left my home before dawn yesterday morning in order to search for Cochise, Connie, Carol and Connor at a time it would presumably be too early for "Geese Police."
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It had been three days since I had last seen all four ducks. Though I suspected they were hiding from goose harassment amongst the shrubs and trees of the tiny island in the middle of the lake, I was not sure.
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Arriving at the Meer around 7 AM, I was relieved to finally find all four large quackers together and swimming on the lake.
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Recognizing me, they quickly came my way.
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But, I have never seen the "barnyard" ducks so jumpy, nervous and edgy.
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Offering some cracked corn in both hands, the ducks practically ravaged my hands in mad rush to gobble what they could as fast as they could.
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Then, sensing an off leash dog in the far distance, Cochise & company quickly bolted and headed in the direction of the tiny island, where even the white ducks, Conner and Carol can find complete camouflage amongst the thick foliage.
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Relieved all four ducks were alive, but saddened by their seemingly extreme fright and wariness, I continued to walk around the lake.
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There was a family of five migratory Canada geese resting in the water.
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Part of me wanted to stay at the Meer to see if Geese Police would arrive and harass the five geese. (One of their employees told me yesterday that they did not bother small numbers of geese.) The other part wanted to go to the Reservoir to watch the migratory geese take off from the water.
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It was nearing 8 AM, the time the migratory geese usually take off to continue on their arduous journey south (half hour after sunrise).
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I opted for the Jackie Onassis Reservoir as the excitement of watching migratory birds organize and take off from the water was too much to pass up.
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When arriving to the Reservoir, the approximately, 200 migratory geese were spread out upon the water, but beginning to organize themselves into small and large family groups.
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There was much honking occurring among the flocks, presumably to decide which gaggles left first and which later. Some of the geese rustled wings, perhaps in eager anticipation of flight.
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Then, gathered into tight groups and lined up horizontally, the geese began to take off from different locations in the water.
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First, one gaggle and then another and another.
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The take-offs were so well timed and coordinated, it was like watching airliners take off from an airport.
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In the midst of all the take-offs it was puzzling to note one gaggle of five geese suddenly flying into and landing -- like ballerinas -- on the Reservoir.
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Had this family of five geese missed a cue somewhere?
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But, some minutes after landing, these geese too, eventually took off with the others.
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Within twenty minutes or so, all 200 migratory geese had left the Reservoir. Some in small, tight family groups of three to eight. And some in skeins as large as 25 to 30 geese.
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Though leaving the water in straight, horizontal lines, all the geese eventually formed their noted "V" formations when gaining altitude.
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I was lucky to get some photographs and was generally happy with what was a very exciting morning:
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(More photos here): https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.537670286311051.1073741835.114425621968855&type=1
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But, then I wondered of the five geese seen earlier at Harlem Meer?
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Had they left, too? Did the Geese Police show up? What were the four domestic ducks up to at that hour?
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I decided to return to the Meer to satisfy curiosity.
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The domestics ducks were no where to be seen anywhere on the lake. I had to once again surmise they were seeking camouflage in the thick brush of the tiny, forest-like island.
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The entire lake appeared surprisingly empty of waterfowl.
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There were few mallards and even the five migratory geese observed earlier were gone.
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Happily not seeing the "Geese Police" van, I guessed the migratory geese had taken off on their own -- as did their counterparts from the Reservoir.
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Walking around the lake, I noticed two elderly, white-haried people sitting on a park bench with large binoculars fixed upon the then leaf-covered water.
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Figuring the couple were "birders," I walked up to them.
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"Do you like birds?" I asked.
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"Oh yes," the man replied. "That's why we're here."
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"The best viewing for birds these days is the Reservoir." I offered. "I just came from there after watching a couple of hundred migratory Canada geese take off from the water. It was very exciting to see. These days, they chase the birds from Harlem Meer."
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"Yes, we know." the man replied somberly. "A little while ago, the Geese Police were here."
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"Really? There were five geese here earlier. Did the Geese Police chase them away?"
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"Yes, with the dog."
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Taken aback with the news (especially considering the apparent lie communicated to me the day before by Geese Police), I simply replied, "That's terrible. The five geese would have left on their own anyway."
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(It occurred then that the five geese observed oddly flying into the Reservoir at the time the rest were leaving, were likely the five geese harassed out of Harlem Meer. -- A thought not pleasant to me.)
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But, the elderly couple seemed resigned to the situation at Harlem Meer -- obviously one they did not like, but had no control or say over.
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The old man nodded in agreement to my statement, shrugged his shoulders and then returned to watching floating leaves on top of the bird-empty water with his binoculars.
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"Well, try to enjoy the rest of the day." I said and moved on. The man and his wife bade me a weak smile and nodded, "You, too."
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Since it is only a couple of days before the NYC Marathon and Central Park was filled with teams of runners everywhere, as well as thousands of speeding cyclists, I decided to avoid the melee by walking home via the Fifth Avenue pedestrian path of the park.
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That too, was filled with teams of racing runners.
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In one case, a "horizontal line of nine" that nearly collided with me before I jumped out of the way, nearly ramming into a tree.
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I was so annoyed at that point that even the runners were bothering me. Normally, I barely notice them.
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It was simply incredulous that Geese Police harassed a family of five migratory geese out of Harlem Meer (geese who would have left five or ten minutes later naturally), while at the same time, regular pedestrians and park goers have to dodge racing cyclists and runners in virtually ever corner of the park -- and even outside of the park.
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Such wildlife "harassment" actions are not only wasteful of donation dollars, but more significantly, terrorize the other waterfowl on the lake (most notably, the domestic, flightless ducks) and leave elderly bird watchers with only drifting leaves on water to focus binoculars on.
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I don't know that the elderly, birding couple sitting on a park bench at Harlem Meer have the physical strength and wherewithal to dodge speeding athletes and walk the mile plus to the Reservoir in order to still see waterfowl.
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Hopefully, they have a computer at home and can watch goose and other bird videos on YouTube.
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If so, they can enjoy this:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co9f8ecXEvw&feature=share ("The Migratory Canada Goose")
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But, the days of enjoying the migratory Canada geese (and many other waterfowl) at Harlem Meer in Central Park (and all other CP lakes and ponds) are long gone.
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Thank God, we still have the Jackie Onassis Reservoir -- which coincidently, is surrounded by a running path and therefore, not normally conducive to the more "laid back" bird watchers.
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YouTube, here we come. -- PCA
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