The Iceman Cometh -- And The Geese & Ducks Gotta Move

Small band of remaining geese and ducks grabbing cracked corn off the ice at Reservoir yesterday morning.

Walking on water.

Only a few days ago, there were well over a hundred geese at the Jackie Onassis Reservoir in Central Park, as well as a variety of ducks, consisting of mostly mallards.

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But, as temperatures began to dive, it seems most of them took off.

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Yesterday morning, when arriving to the Reservoir it appeared at first glance, there was only a tiny scattering of birds spread out on the water. But, closer inspection revealed a fairly tight cluster of resilient geese and ducks huddled near the South Gate House.

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Ice had begun to form around the perimeters of the Reservoir in the sub-freezing cold.

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The birds were feeling the chill as marked by their heads tucked tightly into back positions -- something they apparently do to conserve body heat and brace themselves against biting winds.

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I could not, of course know where all the other geese had gone and why these 40 or so remained. Perhaps the others had "pond hopped" to nearby lawns to feed in the early part of the day and would return later?  Or, perhaps they were the geese who descended on the Prospect Park lake (in search of food) a couple of days ago as this video caught? https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153092345234880

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Certainly, it is not unusual for geese (and ducks) to move around when the going gets rough and various small watercourses freeze over and food supplies dwindle. Typically, we see many geese arrive to NYC parks (probably from colder places upstate) when temperatures plunge and snow storms occur. Though it gets cold in the city, we are usually 10 to 20 degrees warmer than counties upstate and it usually takes longer for our watercourses to completely ice over.

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This morning it is 8 degrees in New York City with wind chills ten below zero.

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It is likely that most, if not all of the Reservoir has iced over during the overnight (as surely, the smaller ponds throughout Central Park are already frozen.)  Though I will bring cracked corn and sunflower seeds when going to the Reservoir today, its unlikely I will need any.

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Only the most stubborn and resilient birds tend to stay when watercourses transform into solid blocks of ice. It is presumed that those geese and ducks who fled the Reservoir before yesterday probably had sense that conditions were about to go south very rapidly. Where they go is anyone's guess as the current "Arctic Freeze" is throughout 2/3rd of the country.

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Walking around the snow coated and mostly empty Reservoir yesterday, I was happy I had at least, fed a bunch of them before they departed. Open water and calories is what the birds most need now.  -- PCA

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