Daily Zoo Animal: #20, Wood Duck

[urbpan]

Wood duck Aix sponsa

I was walking through the wetland exhibit at the Children's Zoo today, and noticed that almost all of the ducks were away from the public viewing area, over by a feeding station. But this one wood duck was closer, and it did something I've never seen a wood duck do before. It swam closer to me. Wood ducks are generally pretty shy of humans, and in the wild you usually see them at a distance, or as they are swimming away. Even when you are feeding the ducks in a city park, the mallards swarm close, and the wood ducks (and buffleheads, and ruddy ducks etc.) stay far away. I pondered this for a minute, and then noticed the vending machine. A quarter buys a few food pellets to feed the duck, and this male wood duck was conditioned to notice when someone approached the machine--he also noticeably reacted when he heard the sound of the vending machine crank.

The wood duck was urban species #015.

On this day in 365 Urban Species: Mexican Free-tailed Bat. If you haven't seen this entry, you have to check it out, if only for the video. For this reason alone, Austin is a great city.

Comments

Off topic, sorry. New policy threatens 'Stupid Day '

[ndozo.livejournal.com]

from: http://tinyurl.com/2lu6cn

"Musicians play them. Ski fans bang them. Farmers tie them to heifers. Now, state officials may use cowbells to help solve a curiously persistent transportation problem: trucks that crash into the low Storrow Drive and Memorial Drive bridges despite the abundant signs warning them away.

Frustrated that truckers are blowing right by the signs, the Department of Conservation and Recreation says it may revive a homegrown network of cowbells to give the drivers a musical wake-up call..."

Re: Off topic, sorry. New policy threatens 'Stupid Day '

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Instead there should be confetti and balloons released when the top of the truck hits the "clearance 9 feet" sign! Happy Stupid Day, King or Queen of Stupid!