Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Mad Dogs and Englishmen

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There's an old Noel Coward song that claims only "mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun". I tested this claim at lunchtime today by walking around the retention ponds at CyFair college - and I found it to be false. In fact, there were no mad dogs and the edges of both ponds were very busy with birds.
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The small pond at the end of the artificial river had a pair of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks.
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It also had a Great Egret, which was totally unconcerned by my presence.


The two larger ponds each had several Mourning Doves, Red-winged Blackbirds, Northern Mockingbirds, Killdeer, and a Green Heron.
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One of two Green Herons
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The southern pond also had a pair of Cliff Swallows, one of which was clearly feeling the heat.


My main aim in going to the ponds was to see if our Black-bellied Whistling Ducks had produced any young. At first, I couldn't see any sign of ducklings. But then, two adults led eight ducklings out of the reeds for a leisurely paddle around the pond.
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2 comments:

  1. Those Black-bellied Ducks really are becoming ubiquitous. It seems like every puddle has its contingent of them. Is there anything more adorable than baby ducks?

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  2. They are so cute, aren't they? I just love seeing them.

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