The call of a beautiful spring evening compelled us to walk by the river in search of the new cygnets, that the Beacon Herald had proudly displayed on the front page this week. The river walk seemed strangely deserted...not of people, but of ducks. Normally at this time of year, we would see many families of young ducklings following in their mother's wake. Eventually we saw one little one, and further along a mother with 6 or 7 young ones. Also noted was a predominance of the beautiful male mallards displaying their vermilion feathered caps; pretty, but certainly not conducive to a healthy ongoing community. Apparently we are experiencing a rise in the population of predators, who not only destroy eggs and go after the young, but also have been attacking and killing the females.
Looking at the cute fuzzy little ducklings one feels saddened at this increase in the death toll, and yet, without enough predators, the community also suffers. It's nature's laws at work, the law of supply and demand. When the fowl decrease sufficiently in numbers, the predators will move on, and once again the river will surge with renewed paddling of ducks each spring. We can only hope.
No comments:
Post a Comment