6 1/2 Station Road Sanctuary, 03 November 2006

It turned out to be a bit colder than we thought, so it was a good thing everyone arrived bundled up. Hats, mittens, scarves, and blankets were donned as we got ready to walk along the Heritage Trail alongside the OCAS Sanctuary. Heidi and Liam, Laurel and Acadia, Suzanne, Jonathan and Nathan, and Kat, Lily and Penelope walked briskly to the part of the trail alongside the lakes to see what was there today. There were hardly any Canada geese, leaving us wondering where they all could have gone. The American coots were still swimming and diving about in the lake. We also saw many mallard ducks, and they were in full swing of their pairing ritual. The male mallards (drakes) "perform" for the females (hens). They bob their heads up and down, wag their tail feathers, splash droplets of water by dipping and flicking their bills, and do the "head-up/tail-up" display; they lift their heads and tails out of the water simultaneously, showing off their metallic green heads and curled undertail. This behavior will continue through November, when the hens decide with whom they will pair. They will stay together through the winter and through the breeding season in the spring.

We had a great time watching the antics of these drakes, but we couldn't stop for too long... Lily was not too interested in being out today! On our rushed way back to the car to quiet poor Lily, we noticed a number of birds foraging in the trees. They were eating the numerous fruits of the bushes and trees in preparation for winter. We saw titmice and nuthatches, and a beautiful female cardinal. Below is a somewhat blurry picture of one of the nuthatches.

Though this walk was a relatively short one, we will be back again to continue watching the mallard ducks and to log just how many different water birds make a stop at our sanctuary.