Christmas Day on Gooseneck Cove

So I went wandering down to my usual stomping grounds on Christmas Day. Not much going on in Ballard Park, and the pristine snow of the day after the storm was no longer pristine. Gooseneck Cove was a different story, though.

There are less Mallards on the Hazard Rd. end of the Cove, due to the increase in salinity from the restoration project, and Mallards are primarily fresh water birds. Where there used to be hundreds hanging around Hazard Rd., now there are only two or three dozen of them, and mostly in the less saline backwater to the east of the road. But there are plenty of other birds. This Great Blue Heron, also to the east of the road, saw me before I saw it, but it only flew a little way away, and we had a nice photo shoot.






















Then there were two Mute Swans over on the main part of the Cove to the west of the road. They were feeding on water plants while this large flock of napping American Black Ducks floated around them. I've always wondered how ducks managed that; not only do they float there serenely with their bills tucked under their wings, they even move along, sometimes at a good clip. Absolutely amazing!

And finally, there was this Hooded Merganser hen. She stayed fairly close by, but she obviously was not happy with my presence, and kept letting out raucous croaks the whole time I was around, but she refused to retreat. So I got lots of good shots of her, but I chose this one because there was more personality in the face than in the other shots.

And that's what I was up to on Christmas Day!

© 2009 by A. Roy Hilbinger