Forgotten Post...I feel a sense of deja vu...didn't I post this already?

Observer: Estella Yee
Date: 11 September 2008
Time: 940-1010
Location: North of Putnam Center
Weather: 67˚F, sunny

Eleven mallard ducks are all facing the East along the bank of the Smith’s Auditorium. A majority sat with their heads resting down upon their breasts. As a person on a longboard passes by, half of them closest to the East stand up suddenly, looking around. Occasionally, they preen their breast feathers with their flat bills. The others to the West are in the shadows of the trees. Perhaps they are sleeping or hitting the snooze button. Splash! At 943, the first one dives off by slightly getting airborne and then skimming smoothly into the water. It got out of the Mill a minute later, shaking water off of its wings. Two crows and a squirrel move about to the North, behind the trees. There seems to be only 1 male mallard, and he is closest to the East. A single female has been preening herself for nearly 10 minutes now. One goose flew overhead ENE toward the Hatfield Library. When did the mallards arrive? I don’t believe there were here sleeping at night. Where do they go during the day? 955: I smell sensuously delectable pastries baking behind me in the Bistro. The mallards appear to have black-tipped secondary feathers, yellow bills, and white body. The females have brown breasts and head, while a brilliant emerald characterizes the male. They clump in an interesting arrangement; 3 in east with the male, and 10 feet away, 4 or 5 in a group to the west, all avoiding the sun. 1000: the male stands up. They’re preening involve scratching their underbelly, shaking from head down to tail, and perhaps opening and closing their wings. Then, they settle right back down onto the grass. At 1005, the 4-5 females move west to wake the other group with gentle quacks. They later nosed about the bark chip at the base of an ash tree.