Changes of Season

Old man winter is slowly, but inevitably arriving to NYC.

 

You know it's cold when your chin starts freezing.

 

Last night, when walking home from Central Park, the 40 MPH winds and below freezing temperatures made my face and chin feel they were turning to ice.

 

They didn't of course.

 

But, what will surely turn to ice soon are the lakes and ponds of Central Park -- including Harlem Meer.

 

That won't happen before the New Year as temperatures are supposed to rise over the next few days.

 

But, next week it is projected that an "arctic front" will arrive to NYC and temperatures will fall to the teens and low twenties for at least a few days.

 

That will freeze over most of the smaller watercourses.

 

There is no doubt that Brad, the Rouen duck of the Meer is very well prepared for the lake freezing over and the challenges of winter.

 

Brad has obviously been through this movie before. 

 

Over the past few weeks, he has been stuffing his belly with sunflower seeds and formed necessary alliance with the other two flightless ducks at the Meer whose help will be required to keep open water.

 

The question is, will Piggly and Wiggly be prepared for a frozen lake?   And will they even know how to help Brad maintain open water?  (That requires almost constant dunking and diving in a shrinking pool.)

 

So far, I have seen neither of these barnyard ducks "dive or dunk" in the water, though Brad has been doing a lot of that over the past few weeks.  

 

Brad has also been diligently  practicing "wing flapping."  Though his wings are clipped (rendering him unable to take flight), Brad is actually able to fly a couple of feet off the ground. That will be necessary to help navigate the lake when parts of it are frozen.  

 

I don't see Piggly or Wiggly flapping their clipped wings at all.

 

The speculation is that Piggly and Wiggly have a great deal of "learning" to do over these next few weeks -- through they have a great teacher and leader in Brad.  And at least both birds now appear to be a very much stronger and plumper than when first discovered at the Meer a few months ago. 

 

Though Brad recognizes that he doesn't have a great deal of "smarts" and experience to work with, Piggly and Wiggly are obviously better than nothing.

 

For sure, most of the mallards and geese won't hang around long when the lake turns into a solid block of ice.

 

Presently, (as noted) there are many geese and all breeds of ducks "loafing" at the unfrozen Meer.

 

But, like Brad, almost all the geese (and some of the ducks) recognize the need right now to seriously practice their diving, dunking and other survival skills.

 

It was quite amusing the other day to note most of the geese diving under the water in what appeared to be an entertaining "synchronized swimming" event worthy of Olympic competition.

 

But, it is actually serious business in terms of finding food in winter and maintaining open water.

 

Other gaggles of geese were peacefully grazing on the grass on a rainy day that otherwise discouraged many people from walking through the park.

 

(I shot this video of the lazy, happy scene from the other day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlXxZO_nChs )

 

But, if and when the lake freezes over, presumably the migratory geese will continue on their migration routes south and many of the resident geese will simply hop over to the Reservoir -- which is the one watercourse in CP that usually maintains a fairly large pool of open water in the winter.

 

I am guessing, (but of course cannot be certain) that Buster and his rag tag gaggle of six geese might elect to stay at the Meer as long as possible. 

 

That is because he and I have become such good buddies.

 

What should I ever do, after all, without Buster's loud, honky greeting every night that directs me where to go?  And how could I ever find my way out of Harlem Meer without Buster and "Braggly" (i.e. Brad, Piggly and Wiggly) showing me the way?

 

Jokes aside, I believe that Buster is simply one of the original resident geese of Harlem Meer and like Brad, is probably quite familiar with how to survive well even if the lake freezes over.   (Either that, or I have just become spoiled with Buster's greetings and direction each night and am guilty of "wishful thinking.")

 

I hope Buster and at least a few of the geese and mallards stay for practical reasons as well as selfish ones.  The more waterfowl on the lake, the better the chances of keeping a small pool of open water and obviously the easier on Brad.  (I am just not that confident about the survival skills of Piggly and Wiggly. More likely than not, Piggly and Wiggly will sit helplessly on the frozen ice and watch Brad do almost all the work! -- But, at least they serve for companionship and "hierarchy!")

 

Yes, "Old Man Winter" is on his way.

 

And while not every bird or creature of nature might be as prepared for it as Brad and virtually all the geese are, I am confident that with strong leadership and organization, most of the animals will survive.

 

The truly strange irony and recent history of NYC has been, that it is not the winter that is in fact, the most deadly for the birds of our parks, but rather the spring and summer.

 

That is not just true for the geese, but also the domestic ducks I have known.

 

It seems they figure out how to deal with the harshness of winter. 

 

It is the harshness and cruelty of humans, they haven't quite figured out yet.  -- PCA 

 

 

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