The weather forecast called for a cloudy morning. When I was about to set out on a walk in Brightwood Park, I was excited to see the sun working out and breathing heavily.
The fog was heavy and persisting in the park. It created an ideal condition for a stage show of the wonder of nature. The rays of the rising sun and their reflections in the pond, propelled by the gentle breeze, generated a special effect like someone was spinning a wheel next to the stage light. Walking in the woods, I saw a log with an artistic pattern drawn by fungus. The pond appeared extremely calm and peaceful. A very large number of geese were stranded in the pond by the fog. They wandered around and waited desperately for the sky to clear. A lone goose flew by and dropped its landing gear. After making a circle, it landed in the water with a splash, and honked loud as if it was making a reconnaissance report. Before long, the squadrons responded by starting their engines and took off in formations, by leaving the fog and the ducks behind. Have a nice day. On the second day of the new year, I went to Brightwood Park to watch the ducks, with special attention to the ring-necked ducks. The three new visitors seemed to get used to my presence. One even started to make faces at me. I wonder if this was the big brother of the trio, as the guy was always in the front when the trio marched into the water. They partied well with the mallard ducks. One pair of mallard ducks diligently pursued the new friends in the pond. The ring-necked ducks searched for food by diving. Watching them diving was like appreciating a water ballet performance. The geese and the mallard ducks were probably conditioned by people feeding them here and other places. Upon seeing me, they swam and even flew toward me. Watching the movements I felt like a VIP examining a parade of navy fleets equipped with aviation forces. They even performed exercises of rescue missions from an ice trap.
I was thankful to the Creator and all the parties in the parks for bringing me so much fun at the opening of the new year. I hope you and others can enjoy the parks as much as I do. Have a wonderful 2023! I would like to share with you a few sets of photos taken on the first and the second days of the year. As a highlight, the dramatic changes of weather in the past few days not only created golden opportunities to capture many rare beautiful scenes of Westfield parks, but also started to attract various kinds of migrating water fowls. I was very lucky to catch the moments of the rising sun's rays shining through the woods. The reflections in the misty pond were spectacular. In only a few minutes the fog burnt out and the rays disappeared. I chased the fog and it kept running -- past the willow bush and the dam. The sky was clear and the air was amazingly fresh and pleasant. Standing in the park and appreciating everything there, I felt surrounded by a symphony played by an orchestra of angels. Recently, the large pond of Brightwood Park became a popular stop-over place for many migrating geese. Watching them can be fun as, sometimes, they behave like humans. For example, while crying and looking around for a friend, one goose almost hit the butt of a diving fellow. Feeling as if he had been rudely treated, the goose got mad and kept screaming at the other. Not sure if this was a male-female chasing episode. I was also happy to see a trio of male ring-necked ducks looking like floating cotton balls. Watching them carefully I found a unique character in each face, like siblings acquiring a little bit of each part from their parents to form individual identities. These ducks are more timid compared to mallard ducks and Canada geese. Before Christmas, the temperature dropped sharply from close to 60 degrees to 5 degrees Fahrenheit. Fortunately, in our area, although there was strong wind, the wind did not bring in snow. I bundled myself up and headed for Brightwood Park in the mornings. When I left home at sunrise, I was surprised to see a blue jay. The geese seemed to enjoy being in a tub decorated by gold mosaic tile brought by the morning sun. Thick ice formed underneath the bridge of the dam, while the water was still running through. Near the Fanwood Avenue entrance, a few ice spikes appeared on a wood log, as if the wood was developing a running nose. Not sure if I could ask it to take a Covid test. |
Chuan-Chu ChouI am a frequent visitor of Brightwood Park and enjoy sharing my discoveries. Archives
January 2025
ducks
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LocationBrightwood Park is on the North end of Prospect Street. Go past Franklin School and look for the entrance on the left.
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