I was driving past anyway so I figured I’d stop quickly to see what was happening at Wood’s Pond in Norwalk.
I stop there almost daily during late fall and early spring to check out the migrating ducks. It’s a nice, relaxing place to see hooded mergansers, ring-necked ducks, American wigeon and other ducks from November to March.
Once the ducks head north and vegetation overtakes the pond, however, wildlife viewing opportunities decrease dramatically. It’s still rich in wildlife, but you have to put forth more effort.
Ducks are easy — park in the lot and look out your car window. Songbirds are a different story. They require some legwork and Wood’s Pond is not exactly conducive to taking a nice, long stroll. Not that I’m opposed to putting forth effort to find birds — in fact I’d rather my birdwatching require some effort — but I had a limited amount of time (about five minutes) and my work clothes on.
So I pulled into the lot this week to see if any wood ducks were around, or perhaps a heron or egret of some variety.
No luck on those fronts, but I was rewarded with a nice bird sighting nonetheless. Usually I don’t get too excited about mallards, but this time was different.
At first the sighting was nothing more than a female mallard sitting near the edge of a pond. Then I noticed movement under the duck’s wing. Then the other wing starting wiggling. Then a little head popped out from underneath a wing. Then another head. Then another and another.
Before I knew it, four fluffy mallard babies were peering up from under the mother’s wings. One of the babies was snuggled in directly under the radiant blue speculum feathers of its mother. It was a touching scene as the babies jockeyed for position with each other, but never left the comfort or safety of their mother.
In a few months, these babies will be full-grown (in size anyway) mallards and will largely be ignored by birdwatchers. But I have to admit, these little fluffballs were cute.
I had a similar experience last week at the Dolce Norwalk Center in West Norwalk. I wanted to take the short path between the ponds to reach the field trails, but found my way blocked by four goslings (baby geese). Within seconds mother goose appeared heroically out of the brush and stood in front of the babies. I backed off, took a few photos, and took the long way around the pond.
I would have respected the situation anyway and backed off, but I certainly wasn’t going to tangle with a protective mother goose. They can be quite mean, to say the least.
In a recent similar, yet markedly more urban scenario, I was driving down the off-ramp of exit 40A of the Merritt Parkway and saw a large family of Canada geese barely off the road. I slowed as I passed them and not a single bird — adult or baby — looked the least bit fazed. They were more than at home right off the highway in the shadow of a corporate office building.
Yes, nature’s baby season has arrived in New England. Many baby birds have hatched already and some are currently developing inside an egg in a comfy nest. Baby season will last for several months, in fact, as some bird species haven’t even picked out a nest site yet.
I’ve heard from a few readers about some strange nesting sites, such as the windowsill robin in Wilton. Thanks to those who have written — and an open invitation to others to write with their bird stories. You can reach me via www.birdsofnewengland.com.
Keep your eyes open for babies of the natural world, just keep your distance.

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