This post is part two of three posts about a day spent in Dearborn on September 10th. If you missed last week’s post about my meander along the Rouge Gateway Trail and around Fair Lane Estate and Jergen’s Meadow, just click here.
Next week I will finish off this journey in a post about tripping along Lakeside Trail while enjoying the flora and fauna of Ford Lake.
But today is about whiling away an hour at Ford Field Park’s duck pond.
Each time I visit Dearborn, I stop by this little pond, a cove-like area, which is part of the Rouge River. Sometimes I’ll see about 20-30 Mallards, plus a few Canada Geese paddling around. Still other times the pond is devoid of ducks and geese and I always wonder where they went that day?
As I crossed the parking lot, I could hear some raucous quacking, which alerted me that my feathered friends were in residence, thus potential photo ops might be had. The visit also gave me an excuse to step back in time to me over the years tossing out bread to the ducks at various shorelines and enjoying that interaction just as much as they did.
Since those carefree days of my youth and beyond, I’ve learned that feeding waterfowl bread and/or baked goods is not healthy for them. It causes them to develop a syndrome called angel wing, where their feathers become malformed and stick out at an angle. This is not just about how the ducks or geese look – sadly, they lose their ability to fly as well.
There are signs throughout the area prohibiting you from feeding the wildlife.
That doesn’t stop people though. I was here once when an elderly gentleman was sitting enjoying a large bag of potato chips and the ratio was one chip for him, a dozen chips tossed out to the ducks who swarmed around his feet.
The last time I visited this duck pond, I wrote about the two youngsters, a boy and a girl, sharing their picnic lunch with the ducks which finished up their treats in record time and, since the kids were out of bread they scurried off, so the ducks headed my way assuming I would similarly be doling out ducky delights, their pleading eyes reminiscent of those of my furry friends at Council Point Park.
Well, on this day, just like before, there was a kindly gentleman feeding the waterfowl, but he didn’t arrive on the scene until I’d been there for a while, taking photos and getting hopeful looks from the gang as to what this human might have to offer them.
It was a ducky day weather-wise.
Finally the heat and humidity were gone, likely not a factor to my feathered friends who spend more time in the water than on land anyway.
Near the playground and duck pond, most of the picnic tables were filled with folks enjoying the beautiful day, fast food bags aplenty – who wanted to eat inside today?
As I walked down the sandy slope to get closer to the pond, I noticed many of the ducks were in eclipse phase, wherein males and females look the same once they molt, a drab brown, while they await their new plumage readily identifying them as drakes and hens … well, to us anyway, as I’m sure they know the boys from the girls. 🙂 The brown feathers for the usually vibrant-looking Mallard drakes gives them camouflage protection from predators, since the ducks are unable to fly during this four-to-six-week period.
But wait – there was something new at the ol’ swimming hole … there were Wood Ducks here as well!
A few Mallards waddled over to the sandy shoreline and I began clicking away, but then I stopped and shook my head to signify “nope, I have no food for you; besides, the signs say ‘please don’t feed the wildlife’ – that’s you my friends, even though you might not necessarily think of yourself as wild things.” I think my protests fell on deaf ears, but they, being accommodating ducks, posed nicely anyway.
Woo hoo – Wood Ducks!
You probably remember how excited I was last Spring to find two of these beautiful creatures where I parked my car. Up until then, I was always scoping out marshes and ponds looking for Wood Ducks, but I pulled up in the Ford Field Park parking lot and they were grazing. It was my first up-close encounter with them. So, this was also a treat to now see them here at the duck pond.
The male Wood Ducks were so vibrant, as were their reflections.
Admittedly, the female Wood Ducks are a bit blah, but for a few colorful feathers and that white ring encircling each eye. I decided to use a female Wood Duck as my featured image.
Feathers, feathers … everywhere!
There were lots of white downy feathers glommed together at the water’s edge. Molting wears out all birds and saps their energy. These Mallards seemed to be fascinated with all the downy feathers as if in wonderment, thinking “are some of these feathers mine too?”
There is some synchronized sipping by these two hens, with their mottled-looking bills, as feathers swirl and gather at the shoreline.
This drake, identifiable by a teensy teal spot on its head and its bright-yellow bill, was using one webbed foot to loosen any downy feathers …
… and ended up simply diving headfirst into the water – perhaps that worked better at loosening those feathers.
Eyes on the Prize.
I’d already taken a ton of photos, made my apologies to the gang for having no treats and was about ready to leave, when I saw some Canada Geese hustling up the slope, the ducks following close behind.
So what suddenly piqued their interest? Before I swiveled my head to look, I knew it had to be a human was doling out treats for them, likely a “regular” whom they recognized.
Yes, the man was behind a tree next to the picnic table, but there they were, storming up the hill, headed toward him, as he threw out tidbits to the crowd.
This female Wood Duck was just like an Olympian, on the move, …
… scaling this tree root like a champ, up and over it. She climbed over the second root in record time. You go girl!
She was not going to let the geese get all the goodies – no way!
And what did she glean for her efforts? Some pita bread to go as you see below.
She was feeling pretty proud of herself and why do I think that? Well, my camera lens followed her back down the slope to the water, her bill clenched tightly on that yeasty tidbit, with a male Wood Duck, likely her mate, in hot pursuit. Was she going to share that treat with her main squeeze who flew over to meet her at the shoreline?
Nope. She waddled into the water and paddled away, with him still in pursuit of her … and a little pita bread. And, even as she paddled away, the pita bread was still clasped in her bill … “I mean, can’t a girl even enjoy a snack in peace?”
She gobbled down the treat, turned around and joined him – now, does he look a tad embarrassed for me having photographed this scenario?
This little lady was late to the party and waddled rather dejectedly down the slope toward the pond. Better luck next time!
Breaking bread at the pita bread party.
Perhaps you are wondering “now how does Linda know it is pita bread?” Well, here’s the scoop. It was because I was taking all these photos and chit-chatting with the man who was feeding the ducks and geese and, before I got to tell him that I feed the squirrels peanuts and have a similar following around my feet, he said “here, I got lots of pita bread – you want to feed them too – it will make you feel good!”
Yep, that kindred spirits thing … the kind that fell flat a few months later with the elderly lady feeding the squirrels near Elizabeth Park.
I thanked him and said I’d rather just watch and take more pictures, so he moved a bit closer so we could chat some more and “so you can get good pictures” and then he said “if you change your mind, let me know” … all too soon the bread was gone and we all went our separate ways. For me, it was pleasant conversation, fodder for a blog post, as well as a delightful ducky experience to replay in my mind during the dead of Winter.
If you’re gonna break bread, might as well do it with friends, right?
I am joining Terri’s Sunday Stills Photo Challenge “Feed the Birds”.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Great shots Linda! They all look tack sharp!
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Thanks Wayne! It was fun to watch them and take pictures, especially the Wood Ducks!
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Hi Linda, excellent photos and I like learning from your posts (like how the males and females look the same brown once they molt) – and the Wood Ducks are stunning🙂 – and side note – I heard bread is not good for the ducks/birds and is like junk food that canlead to malnutrition….
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Thank you Yvette – the Wood Ducks are very beautiful and the male Wood Ducks in these pictures all looked like they were done with molting, some of the females too. The Mallards you can’t really tell them apart when they are in brown plumage, as they all have the blue speculum feathers … the only way to tell them apart at a glance is their bills … bright yellow for the male and mottled yellow and brown for the female. I never knew that about the bread being harmful until about 10 years ago …I not only took stale bread or bagels to the Park, but if our store had it on sale, I bought it and broke it up to give to them. I was glad to find that info out.
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yeah, I think I recall you sharing this on your blog (now that I think about it) and hopefully more folks will learn about this
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Yes, I hope people learn about angel wing. I’ve taken some photos of geese that have it and I don’t think I’ve used them as it really does look painful for them and they can’t fly.
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Very cooperative ducks Linda. You managed to get some good photos. They are so messy when the moult 🙄
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Yes they were cooperative Brian and I suspect that I must’ve looked like I had treats with me as we hung out together until their friend with the bread arrived. 🙂 Yes, there are feathers everywhere – I know as I had canaries and parakeets in the past and when they molt, there are feathers everywhere.
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Oh, my goodness! Love all the different shades of colors on the feathers. 😊
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Those Wood Ducks are so unique looking Pepper, especially the males, so it was a treat to see them at this pond. That was a first for me – it’s usually just Mallards and Canada Geese. These ducks get pretty raucous sometimes, especially when they see someone brought food!
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The duck portraits are charming and delightful, just ducky!!! I like all the flashes of blue you captured in their feathers. It does make you wonder what’s going on in their minds as they notice all those feathers surrounding them on the ground and in the water. I love the mallard scratching his chin with that big orange foot! The female wood duck was so pretty, and quite the assertive athlete. 🙂
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Glad to give you a smile with my ducky post Barbara! I went over to the pond as soon as I heard all the quacking. I was very pleased to see that there were Wood Ducks had joined the Mallards at the pond – a first for me. The Wood Ducks are so unique looking and seemed to have already completed their molting phase. Yes, that female going for the bread as fast as she could, hopping over the tree roots made me smile – a good athlete and she got her piece of bread, much to the chagrin of what I am sure was her mate. He didn’t give up easily. Like you, I like those big orange feet. I hope those toenails on the webbed feet helped soothe the itchiness of new feathers coming in. I’m thinking all those feathers must mesmerize them to an extent – they are everywhere and floating in the air as well.
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Ducks, swans and geese are some of my favorites. They are beautiful and graceful.
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Yes, they are all beautiful, even with their drab plumage or when missing feathers as their faces are often so expressive looking.
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I don’t suppose the duck looking at the feathers was puzzling out how to make a pillow from them? Great photos, as always!
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Thank you JP! The ducks, like the squirrels, post nicely for photos. He probably WAS trying to figure out how to make a pillow, or even a down coat to get through the rest of this cold Winter.
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A lot of great photos Linda! It sounds like a wonderful day!
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Thank you Ruth! Yes, it was a wonderful day, with my very long walk and this was a fun stop to watch all these ducks!
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I love Wood ducks ! Lucky you for seeing them so close and getting photos. I can’t wait for nice weather to go out and see, well see anything I suppose lol. It was -10 Celsius today and it’s sad to get so excited at that temperature but it’s better than -35 Celsius !
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Wood Ducks are so unique looking and it was a treat to see them after last Spring when they showed up near the parking lot, not more than a few feet from where I parked the car. Every Winter I always wonder where my first long walk will be and when. After hearing Pugsatawney Phil and our Michigan groundhog Woody’s prognostications, I am not happy. It was a cloudy day all day, except for when Woody the Woodchuck at the Nature Center in Howell went outside her home. Thanks a lot Woody and Phil! We had that warmer (relatively speaking) day yesterday so I took the car out for a short run and got gas and a two-mile walk at the Park. That break was short-lived as we got snow today, now a wintry mix overnight – Friday begins a siege of brutally cold weather and Friday more snow. I. Give. Up.
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Yup we have the same forecast as you and actually it is snowing again right now, it started about three hours ago and it’s snowing fairly heavy. The weatherman said we weren’t getting any snow today lol
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I’m starting not to trust the weather folks and trust the MSN app more! The weatherman on my all-news station said “a dusting” – it was no dusting, it was shovel-able and was still snowing this morning when I went out. We get a break for Wednesday before the snow/cold returns.
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Yes sometimes they don’t get it right do they? We are supposed to get more snow on Friday and have a very cold weekend probably just the same as you guys ☹️
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Yep, that is exactly the same for us. The weatherman said to enjoy today as we’re getting the snow and cold again, but he did say we might start to turn a corner in a week’s time and go above the freezing mark! Woo hoo!
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😃
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Sounds like a fun time. I’d love to see a wood duck someday.
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Yes, it was a perfect way to spend an hour Eilene and the man feeding the ducks was so pleasant as well. I looked for Wood Ducks for many years until finally seeing the pair last Spring and now these at the pond. They are gorgeous creatures, as are the Mandarin Ducks. A UK blogger I follow posts photos of Mandarin Ducks he finds at his favorite birding spot, Titchfield Haven.
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You hit the jackpot with this batch of ducks, Linda! Excellent photos of their feathers, colors, expressions, all of it! Nice to learn that pita bread is also a good food for them! I cracked up at the shot of the whole gang racing toward the new feeder!
Sorry, our home internet has been out since Sunday afternoon. I had to take my laptop to the library to create Tuesday’s post and read a few links.
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I was really lucky Terri as sometimes I stop there and they are not around. There I was taking photos of them, with them posing nicely up close and personal, then the man came along with the bread and they left me standing there! They whole gang went racing up the hill from the pond to the picnic table in no time! I’m sorry to hear that about your internet – I once had an internet outage for four days and since I don’t use a smartphone to access posts, I was already 14 days behind in Reader so then I was 18 days behind – yikes! I hope you have it back now.
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Not yet as of 7:30pm Pacific time. Annoying. At least Jetpack app works for now.
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Well hopefully it is back now? At least you have the Jetpack app or you’d get way behind, especially for your two Challenges you host.
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Its back as of late morning today. Looks like our fiber internet company migrated to another provider. They could have at least warned us ahead of time. Oh well.
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Well, hopefully that is a good thing for you and their other customers. My ISP, Comcast has its moments … they are always doing maintenance work, tweaking things … but then it messes up my e-mail for a few days ’til they get the bugs ironed out.
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What a great outing! I enjoyed all your ducks.
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Thanks Anne! Yes it was fun to go and mingle with them and the gentleman feeding them was kindly, unlike the woman I wrote about recently. Ducks seem to always be perpetually happy souls, especially if you are a human who might be sympathetic to them and provide goodies of you are up close and photographing them.
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My gosh Linda, I think these are your best duck pictures ever! So many ducks and so many different types. It is so hard not feeding them when they are at your feet. I used to buy a large bag of field corn at the feed store and that’s what my kids fed the ducks at our duck pond. They had a machine like a gumball machine that they filled with corn and for a quarter you got a small handful. I was going broke so I bought a huge 50# bag full. Back then I could actually carry it, now no way. I don’t think I have ever seen a pair of wood ducks around here, they are certainly beautiful!
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Thank you Diane! The ducks were gathering around me, like I was Snow White. 🙂 That was smart of you to buy the big bag of corn – otherwise the kids would throw a handful and it would be gone already. A couple of years ago after I watched the kids feeding the ducks at the pond that day, (and before they put up the signs about feeding the wildlife), I also bought some corn to take to them, but just a 10# bag. I thought it would be nice to take it to them in the Winter. I have never been on this route that I always go in the Winter. So then we had that bad Winter last year and I never got to Dearborn, nor to Council Point Park to feed it to the ducks there and throw it on the Creek if it iced up … they don’t have a sign and I hope they never do. I finally got rid of it in the Fall at Council Point Park. I get the squirrels the corncobs in the bag you buy in the pet department. They like them, but only after the peanuts are exhausted.
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Picky eaters! 🤣
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Yes, because they know peanuts are fun stuff, corn is a veggie, thinking like a kid. But I keep reading how peanuts are not good for them and cause calcium deficiency and their skeletons become malformed – they get a metabolic disorder. I never knew that until recently. So when I read it I Googled if sunflower seeds are good for them as I take sunflower seeds for the birds and the squirrels and they cause the same metabolic problem. So, what do you do then? They recommend fruit sliced up. When I used to take them small apples they would look at me like “have you lost your mind?” They’d take a bite or two, only if the peanuts were gone.
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Drakes and hens – that’s new information on me, Linda. Before this post Drake was just a university in Iowa and hens belong in a chicken coop. Who knew? I also never thought to wonder about a duck”s webbed feet before. They look like big paddles but I’m guessing the ducks actually have nerves running along the “toes”, allowing them to grip more than just slap the ground. Certainly makes sense to have more of a foot foundation with all of that weight up above!
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Well Dave, I am that way with chickens. I know a rooster, but the rest of the chickens all seem the same to me … a hen, a chicken, a hen gone “broody” (doesn’t want to sit on eggs) is a bit of a mystery to me because I’ve never been around them. 🙂 I never even knew ducks had separate toes and even toenails until I started photographing them up close and I thought “wow, who knew?” Like you, I kind of thought they were flat-footed, but I see them bend their feet to grip logs or rocks in the marsh that are slippery with moss or algae!
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These ducks and geese are so beautiful. They are intelligent birds and, of course, are very social. Sunflower seeds in the shell are good treats for ducks and geese. They are high in fat, though, so they should be fed in moderation. They are very beneficial in cold weather, though.
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Tom, it was a real treat to see all the ducks, but especially the Wood Ducks. After I discovered the pair of Wood Ducks last year at this park, (but at the other end of the park), I have been on the lookout for them, so I enjoyed seeing them. This whole walk was wonderful. My post next Sunday is about some birds on the hiking trail, including a Green Heron and a Great Blue Heron, plus a few more critters and it had finally cooled off a little so this whole walk was enjoyable. I also saw some scrap metal sculptures (a dragonfly and a turkey) at the end of the walk that were created by a local artist for the EIC rain garden. I did read that about the sunflower seeds, which I understand is how Chickadees, who love them, can get fueled up to survive in the cold. Yes, they are high in fat and I just saw online that peanuts in the shell don’t have a lot of nutritional value for squirrels, although the squirrels can bury them and have a food source … not this Winter though as the ground would be frozen solid.
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Yes, if the ground is frozen solid — like it has been — then how do the squirrels and other critters dig up their stored food supplies? That is why a lot of squirrel colonies north of you hibernate for the winter.
I just spent over $200 to have my car fixed because of mice that chewed through the window wiper tubing (to get something to drink). Car ports don’t keep mice out! I don’t like the idea, but i put a block of mice poison in my car’s engine area.
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Tom, unfortunately this Winter is just the same as last Winter – too cold and snow and ice has covered all the places the squirrels diligently dug/buried the peanuts in the Fall I saw them put them there back in the Fall; they’d bury more than they ate so they were proactive and thinking ahead, all for naught with this weather. I wonder why they don’t keep the peanuts in the nest – or a different nest? Probably no room as the whole family curls up to keep warm, or so I’ve heard. Perhaps that is thinking like a human though, even though I understand squirrels are very intelligent. The birds are out of luck as they can’t get grubs from the bark either, especially woodpeckers.
I’m sorry to hear about your car. I know squirrels and mice are chewing car engine wires – because the wires are wrapped in a soy-based product and they can smell it and chew on it thinking it is something to eat. I’m surprised the windshield washer fluid doesn’t kill the mice because it is poisonous to dogs. Someone told me recently if you rub and/or spray peppermint oil on all the car wires (spray under the hood on the wires) that it repels any type of rodent.
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Wonderful photos, Linda, of all of the ducks and geese. The Wood Ducks are especially beautiful. I don’t believe that I have ever seen any of these. I can see why you like to walk at this park.
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Thank you Rebecca! Those Wood Ducks are really beautiful and I was lucky enough to get fairly close to them. I hope you get to see them someday … it’s like me wishing I could see the Snow Geese or the White Pelicans you are so lucky to see. This whole walk taken that day was fabulous and perfect, having gone so long without long walks during the Summer months. On Sunday I’ll have the rest of the walk, including a Green Heron, a bird which I’ve only seen a few times, but this may the first one I’ve gotten a photo of.
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Ducks are pretty fun! these are great.
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Thank you Kirstin! I think they are fun too – rarely do they shy away as I think most of the ducks I encounter in parks have been around humans and humans are usually good for a snack. I do like that if you have just a little patience, you can get some fun shots of them!
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What was the story re the kindred spirit lady feeding the squirrels near Elizabeth Park? The wood ducks are very colorful.
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I agree with you Joni – the wood ducks are very colorful and I’m glad I now know a place where I can find them since I saw the pair at the other side of the Park in April and was thrilled to find them there, a first-time sighting. I’ve been going there since 2019 when I did a 5K for the Friends of Animals of Metro Detroit and it started/ended at this park and past the Estate. I usually only see the wood ducks in the marsh at Lake Erie Metropark, but not close-up.
In my January 18th post I mentioned the elderly woman who was feeding the squirrels just outside Elizabeth Park near the vehicle bridge. So, twice I attempted to have a conversation with her and she ignored me. So that was whom I was referring to. In the almost 15 years I have been walking, the last 13 at parks (before it was in the neighborhoods), I have found that most people who feed the critters are eager to bond with one another. A few years ago in the Winter I was walking around Elizabeth Park and met a woman there around my age and she was carrying two large bags, one filled with in-shell peanuts, the other was cracked corn. She lives near the park and said she comes every day to feed the squirrels and ducks/geese and had done so for years. There are so many squirrels there, that as you pull onto the circular drive (Elizabeth Park is an island), the squirrels position themselves along the one-mile, one-way street for handouts, mostly in the Wintertime when natural food is scarce. People toss peanuts and treats to them from their cars, but she goes there daily. I told her about my “gang” at Council Point Park so we told each other a few stories about our critter interactions – me about Parker as you might suspect. She noticed I had “people peanuts” in my hand and so she said “my husband and I drive to a big market and buy the raw peanuts and cracked corn in bulk – we can get you some cheap and just meet me back here if you want and my husband will put it in your trunk for you.” I declined as I like the people peanuts for when I use the camera – no dirt on the camera, more sanitary than raw peanuts. So, there is this kindred spirit thing – like the man eager to share the pita bread with me so I can have the same “good feeling” experience as him.
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Yes, I remember now.
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I had never considered that the males and females would look alike after molting. I always learn something from your posts.
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Thanks Linda – I like sharing what I learn. The dull plumage helps camouflage them as they can’t fly so they are less obvious to predators. When geese molt they do not change their plumage colors, but they flock to the water and stay there to avoid land predators while they await their flight feathers.
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