Lulled

The Lullwater looks calm this time of year. But submerged things are a-fin, and just on the other side of the Terrace Bridge, behind me, were three Hooded Mergansers, two Red-breasted Mergansers, a pair of Wood Duck, and several Ruddy Ducks, the males with electric blue bills. Titmouse, Cardinal, Nuthatch, Chickadee, Brown Creeper, Song Sparrow. The dry rattle of a Kingfisher. Leaves rustle nearby and I see a thin, pale chipmunk emerge onto a log. But what’s this?A Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus). Generally more of a coastal bird in winter; I usually spot a few in Jamaica Bay. Except for the red eye and eyeline, a somewhat plain bird. The males, however, metamorphosis spectacularly into this for breeding. Unfortunately, they do not breed here on the East Coast: their breeding habitat is northern lakes and ponds with swampy edges, in western Canada and Alaska and across northern Eurasia. I saw them in their glory in Iceland, where (bonus prize!) I saw one carrying young on its back. This species is known as the “Slavonian Grebe” in the UK. The grebe descends in search of lunch.