As I walked one day, I decided to stop and look closely into the water. I never realized how complex this little, seemingly insignificant, creek actually is. The way every element in this creek works together makes me think of how this little creek is essentially an ecosystem, and if any element of it was taken out, every other piece of this little puzzle would fall apart. The minnows feed on the moss growing on rocks, but when I walk up and my shadow is cast over them, they scatter like hundreds of beads rolling across the floor. It's almost impossible to take a picture of them because I can't get close enough to take it before they dart away in all directions.
Sometimes as I walk I see things that don't quite fit in. It's sad to see trash littering the creek; bottles floating downstream, tricking ducks into thinking they're food. The worst thing to see is shopping carts that people dump in and around the creek. I even got a picture of one.
The Ducks of the creek are surely not scared of humans. If anything, humans might be scared of them. They are so used to humans that they don't even acknowledge them. Seeing these groups of ducks brings back memories of when I was a child, and my sister, my mom, and I would walk down to the creek and feed the ducks our expired bread. Maybe we contributed to the ducks' fearless behavior toward humans. I was trying to walk back home, but a group of ducks was in my way, forcing me to walk around them.
All of the ducks in the creek are dark colors. The males are dark with green heads and the females are different shades of brown. The strange thing is that there is one single white duck, which I have seen in past years and it's very strange to me. I wonder if this could be the same duck, or maybe one of its children. Also, if this is the same duck, how long do ducks live and how could there only be one white duck out of the hundreds of darker colored ducks in this creek? I did a little research to find the answer to my question. I found that the darker, more populous ducks are called Mallards and these are very common in small ponds and creeks, like the one by my house. Sadly, I was not able to identify the type of bird that the white one is, but I'll keep trying.
Works Cited
Owen Dick, Gary. "Mallard". Field Guide to Birds of North America. Mitch Waite Group, n.d.
Web. 1 Dec. 2014.
I think it is really sad when I see trash in parks and creeks and places that should be appreciated more. As far as the carts that are left behind I think give hints about what goes on in the creek at night when nobody is around.
ReplyDeleteThe creek looks like an awesome place, I can imagine many people who go there to get away and run as exercise. I find it funny how the ducks aren't afraid of humans, the humans should be afraid of them. Maybe when they get together in little groups they're secretly plotting a surprise attack? Just a thought haha.
ReplyDeleteThe white duck can probably be the mother duck of them all, the one who rules? I think animals tend to do that.
I understand the feeling of seeing something beautiful ruined by trash careless people leave behind, but we can always do something to help. Maybe you can take 45 minutes away from your afternoon to clean up trash, the vision you can get from the place after will change your perception on how you view it.
I really like your blog! I love how you compared the minnows to beads rolling around the floor. I also like how you noticed the trash and carts by the creek. It really is sad to see this on a daily basis anywhere. I look forward to reading more about your blog. (:
ReplyDeleteI really like your blog because you describe so much on the things you see even if you have lived there your whole life you have discovered new things and it's interesting
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