Today some significant developments unfolded on my beat. First, on my arrival I saw three very active Chickadees flittering about in a birch tree.
Off in the distance I spied two Mute Swans in the Riverbend just beyond the Aiken Street bridge—so I headed in that direction to confirm the sighting.
When I arrived, I noticed the swans dabbling for aquatic grass just a few yards from about two dozen Buffleheads. The spritely little divers were joined by five Common Goldeneyes that were clearly part of the contingent. All were actively engaged in a nonstop feeding ritual.
A dozen or so Mallards and a half-dozen Canada Geese were dabbling nearby. The scene was animated—like a party. The two Mute Swans, a mother and a juvenile about seven months old, were dabbling in the shallows as well.
The mother swan seemed captivated by the foraging Buffleheads only five yards away. She sat calmly on the water, staring in their direction for several minutes.
The swans eventually paddled off toward the Beaver Brook inlet at the far side of the Riverbend.
I retraced my steps and headed downstream. I counted over 50 Mallards and several Canada Geese going about their respective business in small groups along the river’s edge.
“The Mallards must have flown in overnight,” I thought. There were so many!
About a half mile from the scene on the other side of the Aiken Street bridge, I was readying to leave when I noticed another Mute Swan looking upstream.
“It may be the father,” I mused.