Now that I’ve got your attention…

Walking on the path alongside Cooksville Creek where it flows into Lake Ontario, I spotted 2 ducks. It looked like a male and female mating, with the male on top, his tail feathers furiously pumping, splashing. A feathery shag, I thought.

Then I noticed the male on top was being very hostile. He kept pecking the other’s head and pushing their head underwater. Looked like rowdy sex, or a rough duck fuck. There was another guy on the shore, watching with binoculars. I was feeling embarrassed for them.

After watching further, I realized that the one on the bottom was also a male and that this was a fight, and the top was winning and trying to drown the bottom. There was a lot of splashing and quacking, with the performance moving out into the open lake, when a 3rd male showed up. But other than a few pecks and pushes, and a lot of quacking, he was mostly just watching. He was a bystander.

Finally, the aggressive top succeeded in drowning the other, who just sank. The victor swam around a few circles just to make sure of the other’s death, then reared up out of the water, flapped his wings, and let out one huge quack.

Then he swam back towards the shore, looking straight into my eye – proud as punch, like he was going to take me on next!

I always thought that ducks were very gentle and timid. On my walks along the shore, I often hear the soft, murmurous quacking here and there, usually between a male and female pair. Maybe they’re just having a quiet, domestic conversation. Today I was surprised to see this violent display and I wondered if it was ideological, religious or political division that brought about this brutality.

I guess ducks are just like humans.

***

The photos below are mostly from my 52frames project, with another few just thrown in. The challenges are in brackets after each caption.

[Click on any photo for the slideshow. Please leave comments at the bottom of the page]

A Dangerous Place (Unexplored)

Reflections of History (Reflections)

The Spin (An Activity)

Strings (Long Shutter)

Questions? (Emotion)

I want to ruffle your feathers (Nature)

1941 – 1993 (Extreme closeup)

The Path (Lamp)

Risky Exposure (Low Key)

TORONTO BREAKING NEWS – woman seen not looking down at cellphone (Leading Lines)

Happy to be alive

Union Station

Start (Lay Flat)

Look at my belly

Cherry Blossom Time at High Park

Wallace Ave Pedestrian Bridge

Into the Archway (Architecture)

The Philosopher’s Walk at U of T

The Storm (Abstract)

Well hello there!