Ducks and other Thoughts

I thought about what to say about different kinds of ducks we see around in the lakes and ponds.  It seemed like that could be kind of dry. So~ in a nutshell, all ducks are built to feed just exactly where they feed.  Chalk it up to evolution.  Some dive for their food and have legs set far back on their bodies to propel them underwater. When they're on land, they don't look very graceful and have a harder time getting around.  They're truly built for the water and for swimming under water.  Although not a duck, a loon is a perfect example.  Others ducks are dabblers, who tip up and feed off the near bottom.  Legs farther forward on body, so when they are on land, they do fairly OK.  They still look like they do the bow-legged cowboy walk to me though.  Mallards are a good example.  There's a drake rambling across my yard right now.
The better part of the story for me is to see drifty, misty rafts of ducks in the bay on a winter day.  A close series of black figures, all facing into the wind, bobbing easily on the following seas rolling up the Columbia from the stormy  ocean. Nonchalant in currents that would capsize a kayak, they tuck heads warmly into neck feathers, eyes close.  This is home to them.   Their legs have a great circulatory system that keeps the blood moving and warm.
If it's a clear day, you might see the large, bulbous bills  on the surf scoters.  These are husky  black sea ducks that spend rough winter days in the protection of Young's Bay.  Their bills glow in the lemony winter sun.  Their legs are bright orange too, but you almost have to be on top of them to see them. 
Buffleheads are showing up now too.  The males have beautiful white head feathers that erect into a fan that can be seen for miles.  What I love about buffleheads is the enthusiastic way they dive for food.  They sort of rear up, curve their necks, and dive straight down, barely making a ripple. 
The next time you cross the Columbia, or Young's Bay, at first glance it might look empty and forbidding, grey with whitecaps and fog blowing off the water.  Look closer.  There are birds tucked everywhere.  Always a few cormorants, some gulls, surf and white-winged scoters and buffleheads.  To them it just another great day on the river.   The natural world is not an empty place  ~ we just need to look closely and often.