The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge.
We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns.
We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
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December 17, 2019
Salish Sea, PacificNorthwest
Blustery and spitting rain these past two days and the ducks have taken shelter, wisely.
Before the storm rolled in, I saw two pairs of Hooded Mergansers cruising the bay. They began grooming, but then one of the hens decided to use a nearby rock for that. Ducks are perfectly capable of grooming while floating, but it’s easier to reach some parts while standing on solid ground. The rest followed her.
Video of them hopping up and engaging in a thorough preening session (if not displaying in HD, you can adjust the settings wheel):
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This is a very quiet time of year as far as human traffic, so the hoodies were feeling pretty relaxed even with the road 30 feet away, which is where I was standing.
Sometimes one would groom while the others gazed off into the middle distance.
Sometimes two would groom. Or three.
Or all four.
Eventually they all hopped back into the water and paddled away, leaving the goose with sole occupancy of the rock. Wild waterfowl generally coexist quite peaceably.
(When I uploaded that video I was amused to see a video of hoodies on this very same rock I took three months ago. At that time, there were no drakes. Eclipse drakes, their in-between plumage of late summer/fall, look like hens, except they have golden eyes. All of the September flock had brown eyes, so they were hens or immatures. The drakes showed up later in the fall when they were done molting and could fly again.
I note that 5 Hoodies maxes out the rock space, so there was some negotiating going on amongst that little flock of 10 when they decided to make use of it then.)
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Steady rain in the PNW this morning, gale winds have dropped finally. Temps in the low 40s.
What’s up in nature in your area today?
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