Rolling in the Deep Freeze, The Birds Hang Tough

"Liliana's Boy" -- Domestic Rouen duck hanging tough at frozen Boat Lake in Central Park.

Hungry mallards and geese at Boat Lake.

A frozen wonderland with just a tiny pool of water.

Despite the cold, this sparrow taking a bath.

Ice landing at the Reservoir.

Three coots on icy Reservoir.

Female wood duck hanging with the geese at Reservoir.

Geese and coots at Reservoir.

 

This past Sunday, I went to the Boat Lake in Central Park and was relieved to find the three (flightless) domestic ducks still hanging tough at what has become an entirely frozen wonderland with the exception of a tiny pool of open water to the north west side. (As previously noted, my friend Liliana has been sick with the flu over the past ten days and was not able to feed and monitor the birds at the Boat Lake. Thankfully, she is slowly recovering now.)

.

But, it wasn't just the three domestic ducks taking refuge at the small open water spot, but also, a sizable number of mallards and ten geese.

.

This suggested that (as Liliana and I had hoped and anticipated) other people were aware of the vulnerable birds and apparently taken to providing them with some sustenance over this particularly challenging time.  

.

The good thing about this particular location at the Boat Lake is that the ducks and geese are highly visible to many people passing through on a daily basis. 

.

In that sense, the Boat Lake is very different from the Jackie Onassis Reservoir.

.

Although a very popular location for runners and people strolling during fair weather, the Reservoir is probably the coldest and most inhospitable area in all of Central Park during winter. For one matter, the running path surrounding the Reservoir is never plowed. Result is that new snow piles upon old snow and all becomes ice with just a few snow storms and consistently frigid temperatures. 

Another problem is the wind. Because it is wide open space, there is nothing to block winds blowing across the Reservoir. While a very attractive feature on summer evenings when soft breezes are welcomed in steamy New York City (and always make the Reservoir feel ten degrees cooler than the rest of the city), in winter, the unblocked winds are just brutal and unrelenting. 

.

During the past few weeks, there have been very few people venturing around the Reservoir.

.

While the peace and serenity is very refreshing to this otherwise hardened New Yorker, I am also relieved that the three domestic ducks are not located at the Reservoir as they would surely be dead. Thankfully, they apparently have more than one fan at the more traveled Boat Lake and the winds are much more gentle there.

.

It would be nice to think that the worst is over, both for the domestic ducks at the Boat Lake and the rest of the ducks and geese in New York City. Normally, by mid February, things begin to warm up a bit and the migratory geese wintering in Central Park take off to return to their homes far north.

.

But, it is hard to imagine any of this happening any time soon.

.

Another "polar votex" is predicted to descend on the city by this Friday and temperatures are predicted to plummet to their lowest points all winter. (As low as 2 degrees through the weekend.)

.

This morning, there were not as many geese at the Reservoir as I am used to seeing over the past month.

.

But, I can't be sure if that is due to them needing to find food before they migrate back north or whether most just took off ahead of the polar vortex and left town all together.

.

Stay tuned.

.

                                                  **********