The waterfowl situation here at the Museum has been sketchy as of late. With the shallow water being frozen at least some of the early morning hours, the groups of mergansers that we experienced earlier in the season have disappeared. They’ve apparently found better ponds and lakes to catch fish and socialize.

Two mergansers, however, seem loyal to our site. It’s difficult to determine if the pair is indeed the same two mergs that I regularly see here in our little wetland, but I’m willing to wager that they are.

A check of the wetlands this morning (2/6) revealed a frozen pond, ice from shore to shore. The previous night’s lows were in the high teens. Needless to say, there were no ducks present. I expect they will show up later in the day when the forecasted brilliant sunshine and warm near 50˚ air will open the water.

Saturday and Sunday are forecast to be in the high 50s and 60s, respectively. I’ll bet there’ll be some ducks out on the water then. There may even be a few turtles out basking.

See you then!