The Day the Ducks Went Quack

Winter can bring out the hunger in some animals.

In the unfriendly cold this weekend, we went to a nearby pond to feed the five white ducks we've come to enjoy visiting over the past couple years.

As soon as they saw us, they swam directly toward our direction. They jumped out of the water and waddled up the hill, quacking all the way in hopes of gaining our bread.

With the five ducks, probably over 100 Canadian Geese share the pond. Typically, they stay away from the food people; the white ducks have the advantage of bravery (they'll literally stand on my feet to get bread) and have learned to put on a better show in begging for food.

However, this weekend, as the winter closes with a chilly gasp, the geese were just as aggressive trying to get some snacks.

Grumpy as geese tend to be, they started fighting each other, yelling as if the world were coming to an end. Swarming, yelling, flapping wings, and honking, they demanded their fair share of the available bread. The white ducks held their own, gaining more food in the long run, but not at the dodging of a few goose bill snaps along the way.

It was almost a little intimidating; at one point we were pretty sure the geese could take us off our feet if they really wanted to. It seems like a pretty likely way for me to die...mauled by hungry geese in a suburban DC community. At least I'd make the paper.

As would he...