Ice on the Pond
By Lauretta Young

As I am writing this we are finishing a week of unusually cold temperatures. The fog has persisted for much of the day, and if it lifts, the sunlight lasts a couple of short hours before sunset. This has led to a rare sheet of ice on the pond I can see from my windows—part of the Bethany wetlands through which Willow Creek meanders. Some of my neighbors have left for warmer weather and we’ll get reports about the temperatures in Palm Springs or Australia soon via email. Sitting in my sunny window this afternoon, I can almost feel what it might be like to reach those warmer temperatures. Yet one glance at my pond shows the thin skin of ice and the lacy textures of the previously invisible cobwebs are revealed in the frost as the sun shines weakly on them.

Pintail duck, Fernhill wetlands, January 2013. Photo ©2013 by Jeff Young

The change in temperature brings new stresses and solutions to our wildlife. Occasionally, and very rarely over the past 15 years I have lived here, I have seen Bald Eagles. This past week the eagles have been regular visitors to the “buffet line” that this icy pond has become. I imagine that their usual diet of rodents and other small animals has been disrupted by this cold snap so they have sought out new food sources. Fortunately, Bald Eagles are very flexible in what they eat—which allows them to thrive in different conditions. Apparently this week they prefer duck or goose although an occasional minnow also seems to be on the menu.

In addition to the Eagle pair, we have seen several duck species that don’t usually visit our pond. Every year we do have several Hooded Mergansers, who also fish for minnows and apparently do well, since they stay for several months before leaving for their breeding grounds. They have had to share the pond with these interloping ducks over the past week—we have had visits from Northern Shovelers, Northern Pintails, and even a Ring Necked Duck couple. These groups seemed to be resting while traveling around and did not stay—these ducks are vegetarians so possibly our pond is more suited to producing fish and frogs and snakes than duck weed or other plants.

So far our hummingbird feeder has not frozen. Recall your chemistry courses—water with dissolved sugar (and other solutes) freezes at a lower temperature than regular water. In some years past with prolonged colder temperatures, the sugar water has frozen and then we hooked up a warming light to shine on the feeder—oh those birds have worked their way into our hearts. We also have a specially designed birdbath heater – clearly one does not put anything electrical near water unless designed for that purpose! I have seen many of our yard birds drinking and enjoying the “hot tub” since most of the puddles and other shallow bits of water are totally frozen.

While I don’t exactly enjoy layering up in coats and hats to go outside, or having to worry about slick streets, the other joys of winter are plentiful. The different birds we see, the beautiful outlines of the winter branches in the frost, and the brilliant berries in the yard which stand out against bare branches, are all sources of wonder and joy.

Like resiliency in most ecosystems—having flexible options provides choices when the environment changes. This allows Eagles to flourish when their usual food source dwindles. We might take a clue from the birds and find ways to flourish when our preferred activities/foods/weather is not optimal. Instead of complaining about the cold--- enjoy it and find ways to expand your joys instead of constricting them.

Lauretta Young MD is the current Director of Integrative Self Care for Students program at OHSU and has a custom bird touring business—see www.portlandbirdwatching.com for more information and see www.flickr.com/photos/youngbirders for more photos from the Young’s adventures in Cedar Mill and beyond.

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