Mallards

We have perhaps one, or at the most two more trips on our boat this year.  Soon it will come out, be steam cleaned, and then shrink wrapped for the winter season.  It's always a slightly sad moment.  The last time we went out and had lunch aboard with the two boys, I noticed how few Mallard ducks there were.  Normally once we get the sandwiches out they detect it and they start to swim over to us.  It's hard to resist them.  I don't know where they all go to as the days dwindle down but in their places come an even bigger population of coots.

These are strange little birds who lack the brilliant colors of the ducks and who don't seem to be able to fly as well either.  They have a funny discordant cry and bobble about doing whatever it is coots do.  They are related to moorhens in other countries.  Later on in the year they will be the only birds out on the freezing lake and they'll fulfill one very necessary function for our soon to be visiting bald eagles; they'll become eagle snacks!  But it doesn't seem to deter them at all.  This year we had about six inches of snow on November 4th, which is very early.  And I still haven't got the boat out of the water.  I'm hoping to do it this Thursday as it's due to snow again over the weekend.  In fact the weather's so bad it's almost worth packing up and going to England!!!!!!