Old Picture Files - 20100811

I used to walk and take pictures at Striebel Pond all the time.  Not only was the walking good for me, but I captured some great shots back then.  I have to give some of the credit to Beth's You Capture because a lot of the pictures I took were to fit into a certain theme or challenge.

But sometimes I took pictures just to see what I could get.

I've been trying to catch up on labeling old files and I ran across these from August 11th, 2010.  The light must have been just right to make it a perfect picture taking night because I love these snapshots of a night at Striebel Pond.

 I loved the red cast on the geese in this shot.

But a few minutes later with a different background and I loved the blue cast and the fact that the geese almost stood out like they were in 3D.

When I first looked at this shot, I saw silvery water and an orderly swan family.

But in this picture, the peaceful coexistence between the ducks and the swans was the focus for me.

 And at the end of my walk I loved the silver and gold in this picture.


And this last shot was taken deep into the evening on a bridge overlooking the night resting place for almost all the birds of Striebel Pond.

The only birds that never got to sleep here were the geese.  The swans never allowed them to be anywhere near them.  (To see proof, visit the 3-post series that started here) I'm sure it was the surly attitude of the geese too because the swans got along with everybody else.

The Astonishing Red-Winged Blackbird

I love birds, some much more than others. The bluebird is so special that for me it's beyond description. The robin, that harbinger of Spring, is another favorite. I love gentle birds and colorful birds and birds that fly on the unusual side. That's why I've never been a fan of the red-winged blackbird.

It seems like when I was young, sighting one of these was worthy of note. But in this era, I see them everywhere. Nothing special or unusual about them at all. In fact, really aren't they just blackbirds with a little color on their wings? Not so much. In fact they're so much more and I discovered this while walking around Striebel Pond, the flood basin where I spend endless hours walking and taking pictures.

The Male

The Female

The first surprising thing I noted was that they have a beautiful song especially haunting in the evening.

And then, I found them to be so friendly! They'd flit from tree to tree and post to post just to keep up with me as I walked. What photographer wannabe wouldn't love a wild creature that poses for rather than flees the camera.

And sometimes they'd playfully ruffle their feathers for me.

But while I was researching for this post, I learned a surprising fact in Wikepedia.org. "Males have been known to swoop humans who encroach upon their nesting territory during breeding season. The "perched display", with wings held away from the body, is an antagonistic behavior of the Red-winged Blackbird." (Apparently I was about a hairs breath away from capturing that ever elusive shot of a blackbird's beak closing in on my camera's lens.)

And a not so surprising fact: "The Red-Winged Blackbird can be very aggressive while defending its territory from other animals and birds. It will attack much larger birds, such as crows, ravens, magpies, birds of prey, and herons if they enter". But Wikepedia doesn't know everything. This feisty little territory protector will also attack geese. Here's proof.

They tried to act nonchalant but it's obvious the whole family was nonplussed by this surprising turn of events as they left that grassy area that belonged to a bird of another species.

Although it's a little off the subject, the conclusion I derive from this whole story is that geese aren't just annoying to humans and swans, they're also annoying to red-winged blackbirds.

Monday Musings About Nothing At All

Which is what we did this weekend. Another beautiful Fall weekend that we enjoyed doing nothing in particular. We dabbled in yard work and cleaned up a corner that sorely needed it and we planned to put the cover over the big pond but we never got to it. That corner took far more time than we expected.

The koi were grateful, though, to put off adding the cover for another week. They don't like it too much but it's necessary to keep leaves out of the pond. They expressed their gratitude every time we walked in and out of the house by greeting us like this.

As usual lately, I spent a pretty good portion of time at Striebel pond. I walked 4.5 miles on both weekend days and that feels like some kind of accomplishment right there.

Here are some of the pictures I took yesterday.

The geese were just chillin' getting ready for the much colder weather that's sure to come. There were small gatherings like these:

And much larger gatherings like these:

Later on they took flight and I found out where they were going so enthusiastically. I saw them land right across the street and was surprised because I didn't think there was a pond over there. Then I realized there wasn't a pond. There was a cornfield. And sometimes that cornfield is quite covered in geese. Perhaps tonight I'll try to get a picture.

Soon the sun was setting. Sometimes I wonder if sunsets were a lot more boring before the jet age.

The swans were basking in the evening light.

Or following the Yellow Brick Road:

Mr. Right was waiting in the dark parking lot again. Time to head for home.

You Capture - Everyday Things

This You Capture was challenging for me only it wasn't. The challenge was in deciding whether or not it was okay to photograph things that were 'everyday' to me but probably not to everybody else. So I decided to do a mix.

For example. Everyday items for me (because they're found at Striebel Pond):

And everyday items for most people:

Everyday items to me and everybody else (because there are 60 katrillion of these in North America).

Then everyday items to me again:

And to everybody else again:

And then this picture has elements of both in it. The swans are everyday to me and the fence is everyday to everybody.

Everyday to most people (hopefully):

There you have it. My versions of everyday pictures. For more, visit Beth at ishouldbefoldinglaundry.

Terror At Striebel Pond, Part 3

If you've read my last two posts, you know that a huge drama was playing out at Striebel Pond - one that had all of us humans standing and watching in awe. The resident swan seemed to be making it his business to eradicate geese from the southern pond.

The geese were really frantic.

And with good reason.

The babies waited anxiously and obediently on the shore.

Finally one of the parents was able to make her (or his) way over to the area where the babies waited and called to them.

The little ones came running.

While the swan watched them angrily.

Then he took after the mate who was still in the water.

Even though the goose got behind him, he still acted very pleased with himself. I think he was just trying to make the goose think it was over.

But then he changed direction and took off for the one on the shore with the babies.

Things were looking pretty bleak for the geese. But on the other side of the dividing path in the northern pond, a third adult goose swam back and forth anxiously honking encouragement maybe?

And all of a sudden, it was like he couldn't stand it anymore. He lifted his wings and flew to the other pond and joined the fight. And now, it was really on.

The swan seemed to re-double his efforts to get to the babies while geese distracted him in every way possible.

Finally the geese, with a little help from their friend, were able to gather the babies and head for higher ground.


Epilogue

On my next turn around the pond, the geese had given up. They were all in the north pond and looked pretty okay with it if not a little sheepish.

The next day, the swan family was all together looking serene in the south pond.

What a relief! The geese were nowhere in sight on either pond, and to borrow a phrase from one of my favorite movies, "Once again the world turned in greased grooves".

On closer inspection though, what looked like rumpled feathers on one of the swans turned out to be something much more disconcerting.

So the geese were gone and one of the swans appeared to be badly injured. More on that later.

I went to Striebel Pond to walk everyday and I didn't see any geese for three days. The big battle took place on Wednesday and there was no sign of geese until Saturday. And that's when I made my big mistake. I was walking for speed that day so I didn't take my camera. Therefore, I hope you can just believe what I'm about to tell you.

I saw three adult geese enter the north side of the south pond (the swan's pond). They swam in formation toward the swans on the south side of that pond. They were about 20 feet apart and they were honking boisterously as they swam south. As I walked down that dividing path, Mr. Stare-a-lot stepped out of the tall grass from the north side and had the gall to hiss at me in a menacing manner. I saw that he had his whole family with him. And would you believe that while the three adult geese ran interference, Mr. Stare-a-lot and his family crossed the dividing path, stepped into the water in the south pond and started swimming around like it was their's. The three adults were clearly taunting the swan and before I could complete the circuit, the swan was heading for battle. I took a picture from the parking lot but I was out of energy and couldn't go closer.


But isn't it extraordinary?! I mean really? Could the geese have a strategy? Could they really be helping each other out? That's certainly what it looked like.

It's Monday. I walked today without my camera again. The swans are serene and the geese are gone again. There's an island in the north pond and I wonder if they could be lying low in there waiting for 50 more cousins to come in and help them battle that swan.

Oh, and I found this online:

It is normal for swans to swim with one leg tucked onto their back. People are often concerned that the leg is broken or deformed but the swan is perfectly fine.

Swans will often stretch one of their legs whilst swimming and instead of putting it in the water, they will tuck it up onto their back.

It has been suggested that this behavior may play a role in helping to regulate the body temperature of the bird. The legs and feet are the only part of the swan not covered in feathers so the blood vessels are in closer contact with the air. The large surface area of the webbed foot makes it easier for heat to be transferred from the body to the air, cooling the swan. This heat exchange could also work the other way, with the feet absorbing heat from the air to warm the bird.

Whew! That's a relief. Makes me glad that Department of Natural Resources guy didn't answer the phone when I called the other night. lol