An Ode to Weird Duck Time

My neighbor, Charles Russo, notes the date each year when the Hooded Mergansers come back to our lagoons on Loblolly Lane. Just before Thanksgiving is when we start looking for the small recognizable ducks. This year on November 18th, less than a week before Thanksgiving, Charles called to let me know that he had spotted our first Hooded Merganser in our Loblolly Lane lagoon.

Since we only see ducks on Seabrook Island and the surrounding area during the winter, they are a welcome treat on our ponds and lagoons. Look for the Pied-billed Grebe on Palmetto Lake or Buffleheads and Red-breasted Mergansers in the lagoon near Captain Sams cut on North Beach. Just today I spotted two pair of beautiful Wood Ducks in the pond behind my house.

Enjoy this delightful article (An Ode to Weird Duck Time) by cartoonist Rosemary Mosco. She has illustrated 3 of the ducks that we see locally and captured perfectly why you might see a bunch of crazy birders hiking out to North Beach in freezing weather to look for a Surf Scoter.

Submitted by: Joleen Ardaiolo