----- Original Message -----
From: Ilene Samowitz
To: Joaw9 at aol.com
Cc: Seattle Yardbirds
Sent: Thursday, May 23, 2002 10:46 AM
Subject: Re: Great morning at Narbeck Wetlands


I too, have observed this type of behavior in mallards. It was last week at Meadowbrook Park in NE Seattle. There were at least 10 drakes watching as well as the father. There seemed to be only 2 other females in the vicinity with small broods.


On another note, I just observed a flock of Cedar Waxwings in my yard. A first for my yard.
Ilene Samowitz
Cedar Park, NE Seattle (N of Matthews Beach)

----- Original Message -----
From: Joaw9 at aol.com
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Thursday, May 23, 2002 10:38 AM
Subject: Great morning at Narbeck Wetlands


Greets Tweets --
I had a good one today. What made it special was seeing green herons (2), a Virginia rail, and a sora all in the same area (okay, the green herons were fly bys BUT one of them flew right over my head). There were numerous (between 8 and 15) western tanagers, Bullock's orioles, Vaux swifts (3), northern rough-winged swallows (also violet-green and barn), Hutton's vireo, warbling vireo, Swainson's thrush, belted kingfisher, western wood peewee, lots of Wilson's warblers, as well as yellow warblers, and orange-crowned. I had a total of 33 species but most of them were same old, same old.
Do mallards rape? I am not trying to sound anthropomorphic but I watched the (seeming) rape of a female mallard that had a troop of young ducklings feeding nearby. I was standing directly over them (they were struggling in the wetland/marsh pond while I watched on the footbridge above). During the course of trying to mount the female, the male bit her neck and head many times. When he was mounting (mounted) he grabbed her by the neck and forced her face under water, holding it there. All the time the female was fighting back, trying to buck the male off and biting his neck and breast. They struggled this way for about 10 minutes. The female finally got the male a good solid bite on the neck and he scurried away, scattering the nearby ducklings in the wake of his departure. The female returned to her younglings. It did not appear that the male was successful in depositing his essenc! e into the female (but who knows).

Jo Waldron
Everett, WA
joaw9 at aol.com
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