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The picture was bleak and a bit treacherous walking around the Jackie Onassis Reservoir this morning. New snow had piled upon old snow and all was covered by a thin coating of ice. It made the going slow, slippery and uncertain. A cutting and strengthening wind didn't help to lesson the feeling that winter was merely in the middle of its gathering grip and was not about to let go anytime soon.
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Though at casual glance, the frozen wonderland appeared devoid of life, closer inspection revealed numerous, small, dark objects clustered closely together on the ice. They were the geese, ducks and sea gulls gathered around what had become their last refuge in Central Park -- The now tiny area of open water created by the constantly spraying water spout.
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Immediately upon seeing me walking in the distance, the birds came flying or skidding across the ice in desperate search of a morsel or two of treat. I felt both, important and impotent at the same time. So many of them and only one of me. What possible difference could one make? And yet, for those few lucky birds I could represent a moment of relief, it was worth the effort --regardless of how anemic such effort was in reality.
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My friend and fellow goose and duck lover, Liliana, has the flu. She has been sick for more than a week and unable to leave her apartment. I offered to bring her soup, but of course she won't hear of it. Liliana is a very proud woman who vehemently rejects any "favors." Fortunately, she has a brother who has apparently been helping her out through the illness.
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I have been wanting to go to the Boat Lake to feed and monitor Liliana's three domestic ducks. But with more than 200 geese and almost as many mallards at the nearly frozen Reservoir now and all of them completely desperate, it has put ventures elsewhere out of the question. Central Park is covered in ice and snow and all watercourses virtually frozen solid. We have to hope that someone else is feeding the three flightless and vulnerable ducks at the Boat Lake, but who knows? It seems the only thing brought to any birds at the Boat Lake is daily harassment by Geese Police.
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Fortunately, the one place in Central Park, Geese Police doesn't go is the Reservoir as they don't have easy access to it. Thus, it is the one watercourse virtually all of the migratory water birds take refuge.
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As noted, there is a water spout towards the southern portion of the Jackie Onassis Reservoir. Normally, the geese and ducks don't congregate near the fountain because the constantly spraying water is unpleasant. With the exception of last winter, normally the birds don't have to, as there are usually other open water areas they are able to work at and maintain. But, with the rest of the Reservoir, completely iced over now, it is the only area with open water and so once again, the birds are forced to adapt. All the geese, ducks and gulls were congregated around the fountain this morning, spray and all. It's all they've got now. Desperate means call for desperate measures.
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"Desperate" is now the term to describe the geese, as well as the ducks. Normally, the geese would be moving around the lawns in Central Park this time of season to feed and calorie load in preparation for migration in a week or two. But, with about a foot of hard packed snow covering the lawns, grass is very hard to come by. I have seen very little movement among the geese in the last few days. They and the ducks are virtually marooned and very much "hunkered down" at the continually shrinking open water spot at the Reservoir.
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Much is made every year about groundhogs predicting whether we will have an "early spring" based on whether they see their shadow or not. I can't personally speak to that, but am suspecting on basis of behavior of the geese, that we have at least six more weeks of winter. Though there have been a couple of small signs of spring stirrings, for the most part, the geese are a little behind schedule in terms of migratory preparation. Spring seems the last thing on their minds as focus is on mere survival.
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We are plummeting down to single digits in NYC tonight with below zero wind chills. More snow is expected over weekend. Though much was made about last winter being so brutal with all the record snow, this winter has been colder than average in New York City. If going by the geese, it seems we have a long way of winter to go. Instead of lawn hopping and dominance battles, I am mostly seeing huddling and squatting down on ice.
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Who can, after all, think of mating rituals and migration calls, when you're just trying to keep your feet warm?
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According to the geese, there will be no "early spring" this year. -- PCA
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