Ducks, Geese, Swans

Mallard Duck

Female above, male below

There are many kinds of wild ducks, and even more types of domesticated ducks, but the Mallard is a good representative of all. Ducks are harmless. Bring some bread along, I never met a duck that didn't expect to be fed.

-- Wikipedia


Canada Goose

Canada Geese are extremely common. Although not native to the area, a large population has long-ago stopped migrating and become resident. Most of the time, they will retreat from your approach, but if they have young it is best to avoid them, or you might get a nasty surprise.

-- Wikipedia


Brant

Brants are very similar to Canada Geese, but smaller - intermediate in size between a goose and a duck. At times there can be a great many of them around, as they pass through in migration. Other times there are none. They have a much stronger affinity for saltwater than the other birds on this page.

I don't think I've ever seen a Brant on land, always in the water or in the air.

-- Wikipedia


Mute Swan

Swans are beautiful to watch, but do so from a respectful distance. Swans are large and strong, and can be quite aggressive, especially when they are protecting their young. Of all the birds you will find while out kayaking, this is the only one that is likely to attack you, and if it does, you will lose. A pair of swans will clear a small body of water entirely of all other waterfowl - that is the reason they were introduced around the world. Swans are perfectly capable of flying, but you'll seldom see them do it - they'd rather stand their ground and fight.

A Mute Swan driving-off a duck

If a Swan ruffles-up it's feathers like the one above, back away! He is not afraid of you!

-- Wikipedia


This is a cable-lock I made, about 12 feet long. It is just 3/16" coated steel cable from the hardware store, with crimp ferrules, and a big steel ring in one end. The ferrules fit through the scupper holes on the boat, but the steel ring does not. Together with any padlock, this will secure the boat (or several) to your truck, roof rack, a tree, or anything else that is handy. You can take this cable with you, it will give you peace of mind if you leave the boat unattended to go exploring on land.

The object is not to stop a determined thief - you can't do that. It is to stop someone from casually taking your boat with their bare hands. Don't lock the boat by the handles - they are easily cut with a pocket knife and cheap to replace. Run the cable through a scupper hole, and a thief would have to destroy the boat to steal it. If your boat doesn't have scupper holes, you can probably find someplace to thread the cable though, or make a suitable hole in the seat.

You can find a cable like this all set to go on Amazon for under 20 bucks. Where I used a steel ring, you could use a second padlock.

Printed from njkayak.net