Mission Accomplished

August 31, 2010

Coincidentally, on the same day President Obama gave a primetime speech to announce that all combat troops had left Iraq, BatteryPark.TV is glad to announce “Mission Accomplished” too with Project Duck. The last straggling duckling that was developing flight feathers more slowly than the others finally flew away today.

(The last duck to fly, shown here two weeks ago with wingtip feathers still growing)

Every single one of the ten ducklings that was present on May 31 when we first began reporting on the stranded ducklings survived to adulthood and flew away. This was possible only due to a collaboration of various conscientious volunteers in the community, ranging from the Parks Conservancy staff who fed them when they were smallest, to other concerned residents of Battery Park City.

The waterfall pond had zero ducks in it at 6:00 PM today. Now, it’s just the old faithful overgrown goldfish left. However, the ducks return daily, so you will still be able to see them, and more strangers from Up North will land and visit in about a month, as they did last year. There are already three stranger mallard ducks hanging out.

(Photo of mallards migrating south last year in November, gathering in the BPC pond)

August 17, 2010

The dynamics of the little Duck Utopia have been greatly altered. Four stranger adult male mallards flew into town and are hanging out in the waterfall pond during the day. They can be spotted by their slightly larger size and behavior. They do not associate in close proximity with the nine siblings that grew up in the pond. One of the adult males is also acting territorial, almost in pre-mating rituals.  The mother is not around much these days.

The young siblings seem to be learning from the new adults and are flying more often. This evening, all but two of the ducks flew the coop for the evening. One duck has had slow development of the flight feathers on her wings and another seems too small to fly with the pack.

August 11, 2010

A male duck landed in the waterfall pond today and was a bit larger than the others. It might have been one of the siblings that flew away 5 days ago. It began to lead the group around the pond and bob his head. Then suddenly, he took flight toward the Hudson taking with him one of the ducks on its first flight.

The remaining ducks took short flights but aborted them within the pond. They all hopped up to the highest rim of the pond and gazed westward. Then, suddenly again, three of them got the courage to fly away. They circled nearby over the Hudson for more than a two minutes. One returned to the pond. There are now six ducks in the pond.

August 6, 2010

One of the ten former ducklings flew out of the waterfall pond sanctuary for the first time today and went on an overnight expedition with the mother. Their behavior is to return in the morning. The rest are doing test flights the length of the pond. Unlike last year where only two ducklings survived, and only one of those had the nutrition to develop flight wings, all ten this year are doing well, thanks to the care given by the BPC Conservancy staff.

Fellow duck enthusiasts have asked some common questions and here are the answers.

Q1 Are they all females?

A: No. They will not differentiate into the colorful male plumage until next year. For now, the only distinguishing marks are the color of the bills. The males have green bills. Also, the mature males lose their colorful green plumage a month or so after the eggs hatch and develop a more protective camouflage brown color.

Q2 When will they fly?

A: Mallard ducklings can fly as soon as 50 days after hatching. Our ducks are almost 90 days old and have the fully developed wing feathers for flight. Being citified ducks, they seem to be a bit lazy and comfortable where they are.

Q3: When will they leave for good?

A: They will likely stick around in the pond until November. The mother will stay with them until next year.

Q4: Will they return next year?

A: Yes. They will likely return and nest again nearby.

Stranded ducklings in Battery Park City

June 1, 2010

Approximately three weeks ago, two nests of duck eggs hatched in Battery Park City. According to a park ranger, one nest was in the grass of the Irish Hunger Memorial and the other one was in Tear Drop Park. Vince McGowan of the Battery Park Conservancy said that a local resident relocated the newly hatched ducklings to the waterfall pond. A park ranger confronted the person who then informed the ranger that he had a “license to handle wildlife”.

The Parks Conservancy is not feeding or caring for the ducklings. They are viewed as wildlife that can fend for itself.

The problem with the ducklings being in the pond is that humans placed them there unnaturally. The animals have no way of getting out of the pond at this age and are therefore unable to fend for themselves. Of the original 19, 10 ducklings remain.

Ducklings feed on insects and invertebrates. The small ecosystem of the pond, with fish competing for the food, is unlikely to support the ducklings as they grow into larger animals.

The video may be viewed here

July 15 update

A plan to save the ducklings

June 2, 2010

As previously reported, the waterfall pond by the Irish Hunger Memorial has ten ducklings stranded in it that were placed there by humans. They lack adequate food and nesting ground. Approximately nine have died in the pond so far.

BatteryPark.TV noticed on the evening of June 1st that the water level of the pond had risen several inches and flooded their circular spot of land creating an even more urgent situation. Searching for an animal protection agency, BatteryPark.TV called the local NYFD firehouse, who referred us to the ASPCA, who referred us to the DEC, who referred us to a private volunteer animal shelter run by Eileen Jones. Ms. Jones spoke with the Battery Park Conservancy’s Tessa Huxley and arranged for an evaluation of the situation on the evening of June 2^nd.

Ms. Jones and a member of the Battery Park Conservancy discussed several options ranging from removing the birds, to building a ramp allowing them to leave the pond, to doing nothing. The plan that was agreed upon was to build small floating platforms to ensure dry land for the ducklings, and then Ms. Jones would provide food for the birds with instructions to the park staff on how to administer it. Stay tuned.

Photo of the ducklings resting in a new grass shelter after the round plot of ground became flooded.

Update: June 6. The duck family taking well to the new platform

July 3: The ducklings are outgrowing their small square and will be flying soon. All ten are still alive thanks to daily feedings by the BPCA parks staff. The father duck has lost his shiny green head feathers as is normal and still splashes down daily. Mother duck often watches from above on the railing of the waterfall.

Kill the Drill

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer discusses his “Kill the Drill” campaign to not allow near New York City’s source of water in Upstate NY a water-polluting method of drilling natural gas called hydro-fracture drilling.

A squirrel and his….

David Letterman’s writers would have fun with this photo of a chubby squirrel eating a peanut on the lawn of Wagner Park. Email us if you have photos of your own that you would like to post.

Shark!

There are sharks in Battery Park City, literally not metaphorically. An angler on the esplanade caught this small sand shark on Sunday, November 22. The fisherman spoke only Chinese and we were unable to get his name or any information.

Email us if you have photos of your own that you would like for us to post.

The fisherman

It’s duck season

Perhaps as a part of the normal migration, there are more ducks than normal in the waterfall pond south of the Great Lawn. By our count, there were 20 or so paddling around. Email us if you have photos of your own that you would like for us to post.