This year's crop of ducklings are swimming around today in Dr. Sun Yat Sen Gardens.
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Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The heron was at the Garden this afternoon
tapping his little feet impatiently waiting for them to send the tourists away and lock the park for the evening. I'm not sure what he's after -- he's eaten all the little koi by now, I'm sure. I managed to get very close.
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Saturday, April 10, 2010
Broody Geese Redux
I caught the 3-week cold somewhere between Portland and Walla Walla two weeks ago; it's been all laying low and coughing ever since, but Friday I went over to the Gardens to sit in the sun for an hour. I arrived right after all the excitement.The pair of broody geese from last year (and the year before) are back. The Parks Department had just left, having taken an egg out of their nest and instructed the grounds guy at the Garden to cordon it off so they can't return to it. They're in an extremely bad mood.
Here's the story as I understand it: the Parks Dep't doesn't want geese nesting in the parks because they defend their nests aggressively, and they could hurt somebody. Last year Parks absconded with the clutch of eggs the broody goose was sitting on, replaced them with fake ones made of concrete, and then eventually took those away too. This year they've decided against replacing the egg -- they just want to discourage the geese from nesting. We'll see.
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Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
I know you think it's all mallards with me,
but there was a pair of pretty little Gadwalls at the Garden last week. They kept arranging themselves among the reflections of the winter foliage left around the garden.
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Tuesday, January 12, 2010
And now for something completely different ...
Went for what was meant to be a valedictory trip to the Bloedel Conservatory over the weekend. But since there's money for the Olympics, if not for parks, it turns out that there's at least one more trip to the dome in the offing before the offing, as it were. Paul Wong is doing a site-specific installation there Feb 27th. It should be a hoot. Here's a taste.
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Friday, January 8, 2010
Just in case you thought it was all duckies with me
That's a bush tit at the suet feeder. Last winter I couldn't really interest anybody in the suet -- weird, because it was so cold. This winter there are tons of tits, flickers & a little downy woodpecker, and obscene numbers of starlings. On my third cake of suet so far ...
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Friday, August 14, 2009
Ok, It's a Week Later
Ducky's wings/feathers have grown quite a bit. She's trying out the notion of flying with them ...share on: facebook
Duckie & Momma, Aug 4
They're almost of a size now (well momma was pretty wee to begin with); the big difference is in wingspan. I'm thinking this is what's meant by "not fully fledged." I think she looks smart, though. See what I mean?
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Thursday, July 2, 2009
OK, It's a Duckie
Just the one. Momma's sticking pretty close. Duckie's cute as a button. No telling if it's the broody duck from earlier this spring trying again, or what.
Mamma's pretty cute herself.
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Monday, June 22, 2009
Gosling Watch
OK, the Sun Yat Sen goslings are a washout again this year, I'm not sure why, aside from the general unlikeliness of the whole enterprise. Whatever happened happened while I was away in NYC, and I've been too busy to remember to harrass the Park Dep't about any egg-addling policies they might have.
Luckily for anybody out there jonesing for some gosling pictures, though, there were a bunch of them at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn when I was there. You can see where we get our ideas about what dinosaurs looked like ...
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Saturday, May 23, 2009
FJ off to New York last night
and I follow tonight. Won't post for a couple of weeks. Hope to return in time to resume the gosling watch (unless the Parks Dep't has addled the eggs).Cheers
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Thursday, May 21, 2009
So Far, So Good
Just shifting the furniture a little bit. The pair of Canada geese nesting at the Sun Yat Sen Gardens are holding up pretty well. Mama's still sitting on the eggs; Papa's her occasional protector; the tourists by and large don't even notice the nest. Today's excitement was an escaped bunny.
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Saturday, May 16, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
The broody geese are back
Some people never learn, except some of them are geese. The resident Canada geese at the Gardens are nesting in the same spot as last year, out in the middle of everything. They're working a little harder this year to keep people away from the nest. That's a hissing gander in the background below.
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Friday, April 17, 2009
No Sign of the Broody Duck
at Sun Yat Sen Gardens, but quite a few broken eggshells scattered around. I fear there's been some of that nature red in tooth & claw going on there.
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Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
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