This photo is a simple view of a few Mallards on a pond. The scene is fairly common in our area whenever there is standing water. Give a Mallard a puddle and it is likely to make use of it.
But this photo represents much more than a simple view. These Mallards are part of about 25 that I saw on this pond during the hour I was there filming them. Again, this is not an uncommon situation. What makes this photo important and, hopefully, interesting, is that there is water in a pond in the Horan Natural Area. Yes, enough water has dropped onto or flowed into the Horan that Mallards are exploring areas that they have not accessed for a very long time.
The water has been evident for a week now thanks to unseasonably warm rains. I really do not think that the rainfall itself was sufficient to provide this much water to the Horan ponds. I’m a bit surprised, but I think a large part of the water seen here came from the City of Wenatchee stormwater drainage system. The system treats the water before it enters the Horan pond system and the inflow receives additional benefits from natural filtration in the wetlands that have been drying out for a considerable time.
So, it’s very rewarding for me to see this event – a couple of ducks on a pond. Common, but not so much in this area for years. All brought to you by the City of Wenatchee and the rains we’ve collected. While people in Cashmere and Leavenworth are recovering from floods, the waterfowl in the Horan are celebrating revitalized habitat. Ying and yang – that’s how water is many times. How long the pond water will remain is an open question. Time will tell.
