An eBird rare bird alert had me off to a new-to-me park in the Detroit suburbs. Dicey, or should I say icy, weather was on the way. But reports of a Merlin visible from a parking lot had me on a mission. My plan was to quickly get the lay of the land, look for the Merlin, and not tarry too long. Good plan as the wintry mix of rain, ice and snow started before I left.
THE DAILY BUCKET IS A NATURE REFUGE. WE AMICABLY DISCUSS ANIMALS, WEATHER, CLIMATE, SOIL, PLANTS, WATERS AND NOTE LIFE’S PATTERNS.
Joseph J. Delia Jr. Park in Sterling Heights is pretty typical of community parks in my area of SE Michigan. They generally have lots of sports-related space, walking trails, play and picnic areas, and, Michigan being a “water wonderland,” some body of water. The largish pond was frozen and snow covered, with Canada Geese hanging out on its banks. A creek drained out of the pond and meandered through the park.
Creek viewed from a bridge over the entrance drive.
A few of the ducks gave me pause. Most were Mallards, with a couple American Black Ducks mixed in. I’m thinking these were some kind of hybrids.
This drake was very dark overall, chocolaty brown flanks and back instead of grayish brown. And with the green head and orange bill of a Mallard, but sporting a white bib. Any ideas? Closer
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Merlin suggested this was a Wood Duck. I can see why the white eye ring lead it in that direction. But no, not a Wood Duck. Some kind of American Black Duck hybrid? Closer
I walked around a bit, and ended in a parking lot that I hoped was near where the Merlin had been seen. But a young Cooper’s Hawk settled in a tree nearby, so I figured my chances of seeing the Merlin were slim. I sat in the car for a spell anyway, with a good view of the pond area.
It wasn’t long before I saw an American Crow flying around a first winter Ring-billed Gull. The Crow didn’t seem menacing, but instead more playful. It had something in its bill, that it was dropping over the Gull and then grabbing. I watched for awhile, mesmerized, and then remembered the camera. These photos are in sequence as I took them.
The first photo revealed what the Crow had — a feather. It was circling the Gull, dropping the feather, picking it up and starting all over again. If it was trying to engage the Gull in some kind of play, the Gull was having none of it. Zoom to see the feather.
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Approaching from a different direction. Closer
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At times, the Gull hopped into the air. Its outrage was evident. Bigger
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The feather is now on the ground. What’s your move, Mr. Crow?
Well, I guess I’ll take my feather and go home. Humph!
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The Gull settled down. But here comes the Crow again. This time, shoveling snow with its bill. I can almost hear the Gull saying “Not you again!”
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It looks like the Crow has snow in its bill. But it may have been after something else all along. Bigger
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Ah ha! The Crow made off with a sizeable morsel. I’m not sure what it is. Zoom to see. Maybe it was trying all along to get the Gull to move away from some food source, although the Gull had not been feeding on anything. End of story, right? Nope!
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The Crow came back with reinforcements. The Gull wasn’t going to take it sitting down.
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Words were exchanged. The title photo came next in the sequence, as the interaction heated up again.
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Giving Crow No. 1 what for. Bigger
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And Crow No. 2 as well. Bigger
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But the young Gull had had enough.
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I’ll go my way, you go yours! Zoom
The Crows did not come back to search for food. By then, it was snowing, so I went on my way as well.
What’s up in nature in your area?
