Joann Merritt's Essays

“Here”
January, 2002

“Here” is overlooking the deep pit at Mulberry Lakes where Rose Marie was standing on January 20th when she spotted the male Wood Duck and where Don & I are now standing in response to her hotline phone call. Approach this vantage point slowly and quietly using the salt cedars and other trees around the pit as a screen so the ducks will not take flight. This rain-filled caliche pit forms a sunken stage where the sun spotlights various waterfowl as they float or swim below.

When viewed in this setting the red, green, white, black, burgundy and bronze colors of the Wood Duck’s plumage are intensified and can be fully appreciated. The colors, patterns and life-styles of other ducks can be observed as well. There are times, though, when the ducks are much as Ogden Nash describes them: “When they dines or sups, they bottoms ups” and then the view is not so resplendent.

From “Here” the brown feathered Pied-billed Grebe is fun to watch as he floats high in the water showing his fluffy white under tail coverts which are reminiscent of a Cottontail Rabbit’s namesake characteristic. If alarmed, the grebe will skitter across the water to find a hiding place in the reeds or quickly sink out of sight.

The Ring-necked Duck is a contrast in dark and light. His sides have a white vertical mark that extends into the dark back seeming to point like an arrow in Peterson’s field guide. In this case the distinguishing feature is a double-ringed bill. The Ring-necked Duck’s bill has a row of white feathers at the base and also a white ring toward the tip. Yellow eyes stand out against a dark head which reflects a purplish sheen in the sunlight, but even when spotlighted the brownish chestnut ring around his neck is hard to discern. Double Ring-billed Duck seems to be a more logical name for this bird.

With machine gun sound effects the slate-blue Belted Kingfishers call attention to themselves as they change perches to a spot where surely the fishing will be better. Both male and female have a white collar, white patches toward the wingtip and blue-gray upper chest band while only the female accents her plumage with a rufous breast band.

The long necked Pintail elegantly swims along, fully confident that his conservative gray, black and white attire is perfectly suit-able. If his brown-feathered cap is meant to be a jaunty touch, it fails. I’ve never noticed the cap until viewed from “Here” where I’m looking down on the pintails.

The male Shoveler is arrayed in green, rust and white and would be considered extremely handsome except for his platypus puss, which disqualifies him. I’m sorry, but it does.

The Bufflehead, whose name has been shortened from buffalo head in reference to his big head and small body, is also known as Butterball (affectionately, I hope). The Bufflehead is not just black and white. In the sun’s spotlight the feathers on his head reflect iridescent green and purple as illustrated in some field guides.

When viewed from a distance Gadwalls appear plain, but from “Here” the sort of herringbone pattern of his plumage is visible and quite striking.

I would like to write something complimentary about most of the female duck’s drab, dull, nondescript wardrobes but first I must go back and o-b-s-e-r-v-e them at length.