Hi Geoffrey and all
Wood ducks on Murrumbidgee
golf course are more than plentiful. Their remains are often seen post
fox or raven predation (ravens go for the baby ducklings). However the
adults do tend to sit on the fairways in large numbers and hardly move an inch
if a ball even ruffles their feathers. They have to be herded out of the
way in some instances – ie if in close proximity. So ‘sitting
like a bunch of wood ducks’ certainly fits, in situations where they have
grown accustomed to their environment and humans.
Interesting story Geoffrey.
Jean
From: Geoffrey Dabb
[.au]
Sent: Thursday, 8 July 2010 9:48
AM
To:
.au
Subject: [canberrabirds] Unfair to
Wood Ducks?
About 10 days ago I found the remains of an A Wood Duck on the small
reserve on the S side of Carnegie
Crescent, near Finniss. These are
usually the occasion for a bit of detective work - apparently a
sleeping or grazing bird was attacked by a predator during hours of darkness. All
entrails and skeleton missing, lots of feathers, head and feet remaining.
I suspect an urban fox, more of these being about than people realise.
Then this morning on Radio National, during a discussion on the misfortunes of
BP of all things, the simile was perpetrated: “Well, they’re
not going to just sit there like a bunch of wood ducks”. I am
inclined to doubt that the reference is to the Australian Wood Duck, although
this common duck does do a fair amount of sitting. It is probably
a reference to the Wood Duck of North America, a familiar bird around
ponds in the eastern US, which was apparently the victim of some serious
hunting in past times. This should not be a ground for complacency on the
part of the A Wood Ducks of the Canberra
suburbs, at least in Upper Narrabundah.
