Duck update: Honey was gone this morning, though she was here with James all day yesterday. At 7:30 a.m., James was again swimming disconsolately around the pond, and even attempting to quack, though not much of a noise came out. (Previously he’d just uttered low quack-y noises, but now he opened his bill wide and tried a real quack, with pretty dire results.) I’m convinced he was mourning Honey’s absence.
Then, at 10:30, Honey was back! Lord knows where she went; this is a real emotional roller coaster, but surely presages the Big Migration. At any rate, here’s James sitting on the “bathtub” this morning waiting for his mate. He’s standing on one leg and stretching a wing. I like this picture a lot. James is a good mate and I don’t think Honey can do better:
Let’s end the week with some humorous wildlife photos, in particular the finalists from the 2008 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards. You can see all the photos here, but I’ll put up my favorite five six. Coincidentally, three of them involve bears.
Lagniappe:
Crap, I thought grizzlies can’t climb trees.
How’s that rule go? Wear bells in the woods, as it scares the black bears away.
How do you tell a black bear from a grizzly?
Black bears are scared by the bells and climb trees to catch you.
Grizzlys, on the other hand, knock the trees over, and their scat tinkles like bells.
The tenaciously balanced(?) squirrel appears to be testing out new obstacle for American Ninja Warrior.
I love the dancing bears. Alan Price’s ‘Simon Smith and his amazing dancing bear’ came straight to mind.
Love the bears!
Looks like four of them involve bears! But I like the squirrel one the best. The photographer polar bear is my second-best.
She better hope some other hussy with a flashy speculum doesn’t come around during one of her unexplained absences, is all I’m sayin’.
Does anyone else suspect Honey’s morals are a bit low?
Given that Honey will have to take care of her offspring with no help from the male, I think she is entitled to look for a BBD (bigger and better deal).
James told me this: “There is no drake bigger than I am. I am the biggest drake in the history of the United States.
And there is no collusion.”
Also, no slut shaming.
Nice end-of-the-week post. The seal made me laugh.
Another amazing animal photo: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-45678690
The drama of Honey’s coming and going is still much better than the coming months of no news. I am looking forward to her return next spring. There is something soothing about life on the pond even to distant spectator.
That pic of James looks very painterly!
Inuit regard bears as the most human-like (including intelligence) of non-human animals. This makes them dangerous and worthy opponents in the struggle of life. The photos here show why too, after a fashion.
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My favorites are the bear observer and the climbing bear cubs.