Nashua River Happenings

Just Ducky is the best way to describe happenings on the Nashua River the past couple of weeks from melting snow and ice, new ducks seen on the river, favorite ducks returning and ongoing construction work in the nearby pocket park. It's been a busy time.

This is how the portion of the Nashua River viewed from our apartment window looked during most of February, snow-covered, but not frozen over, with no ducks in sight.

What a difference in the past two weeks as warming temps arrived and the formerly frigid temperatures started to moderate. The ice was breaking up and floating downstream.

The river's ever-present population of seagulls returned. This group was spotted on some of the remaining river bank ice, but no problem with cold feet. 

Why? seagulls' feet can get cold, but they're not susceptible to frostbite as they are mostly bone and tendon with little muscle or nerve tissue. Gulls have a countercurrent heat exchange system, which helps prevent blood from freezing in their feet. Here's how that works: warm arteries that carry blood toward the feet are in contact with cooler veins that return blood from the feet. So, heat transfers from warmer arterial blood to cooler venous blood, and prevents excessive heat loss in the feet. If only humans were as fortunate as seagulls.

Common Mergansers

Last week, the river had new visitors as a group (waddling or flock) of up to a dozen Common Mergansers appeared on the river below our apartment window. These ducks are part of the Anatidae family which consist of ducks, geese, and swans. It was the first time we'd seen any  on the river.

I read that in the UK, these ducks are called Goosanders. The word, merganser, comes from Latin words mergus and anser, which mean waterfowl and goose, respectively. The name roughly translates to plunging goose.

There's been some very windy days on the river

Mergensers are diving ducks and a member of the sawbill family, with serrated bills used for catching fish. It's considered a very sociable bird and whenever we've seen them, there's always several in the flock and these flocks are usually small. Unlike Canada Geese, common mergansers do not mate for life, but form monogamous pairs for at least one breeding season.

Common mergansers are carnivores (piscivores) feeding mostly on fish but also hunt a range of other aquatic prey: mollusks, crustaceans, worms, insect larvae, and amphibians. 

Male (top) and female (bottom) Common Mergenser

The Common Merganser is a sexually dimorphic bird which refers to visible differences in physical and behavioral traits between males and females of the same species. These differences can include size, color and markings. Males tend to be bigger in size and weigh. Female ducks are slightly smaller with less colorful markings. The female merganser in the above photo was the only one seen in the flock this week.

Legs of Mergansers are positioned for swimming and diving

Mergansers move clumsily on land, and can resort to running when there's a perceived threat. They assume a very upright position similar to penguins and frequently fall and stumble. As shown in the photos above their legs are positioned towards the rear making. While an asset when diving, this makes it difficult for them to walk on land.

Early morning flock of Mergansers on the Nashua River

For the past week, we've watched this flock of Common mergansers hunting either in the early morning or late afternoon. (All images were taken from our 5th floor windows.) When not diving for food, the mergansers were usually swimming on the water surface or floating with the stream and would fly or fish their way back. This week, we watched as they followed this procedure for several mornings.

The river also hosted returning favorites and perhaps the most familiar of all ducks, Mallards. These very social ducks prefer to congregate in groups or flocks of varying sizes. This group of males and females were seen pairing off on the river over the weekend. Unlike mergansers, the mallards will swim closer to the river bank, especially if they anticipate that walkers on the river walk will toss bread, which is never the best thing for them. Just as for humans, bread is a poor source of protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals that ducks require for a healthy diet.

Male (top) and female (bottom) Mallard

Male mallards (drakes) have a striking iridescent green head, yellow bill, white band around the neck, rusty-colored chest, gray body, and a blue speculum (wing band) on the wings seen during the breeding season. Female mallards (hens) are mainly speckled brown and tan with a dark brown cap and brown eye stripes. 

The name, mallard, originally referred to any wild drake, and it is sometimes still used this way. It was derived from the Old French malart or mallart for "wild drake" although its true derivation is unclear. The Mallard is the ancestor of nearly all domestic duck breeds (everything except the Muscovy Duck). While Mallard pairs are generally monogamous, paired males often will pursue females other than their mates. (Perhaps, as in the above photo?)

Meanwhile, now that the weather has been improving, work has resumed in the Le Parc De Notre Renaissance Française, locally known as the French Park, which is adjacent to the mill apartments. Construction work had been halted with the snowfalls and ice, but it resumed this past week. A permanent amphitheater is being installed and walkways are being placed along the river walk. Unfortunately, we won't be enjoying this open space area this summer. Completion has been predicted by year-end 2025.

AWARDS NIGHT: The Tiny Film Festival we attended at the Nashua Public Library last weekend was a fun, if very short, film premier event. All 60-second films were submitted by community members with 15 entries jin categories ranging from grade school, high school to adult film makers. The library did have a shortened red carpet. A photographer was on hand to take photos of three winners in each group and a final group photo. Winners were awarded a small trophy and gift card. Snacks were provided by the library staff.