Friday, January 28, 2011 - Bosque Birdwatchers RV Park, San Antonio NM

Mallards, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio NM, January 24, 2011

Why do ducks swim in a row?

Is it really as simple as follow-the-leader being the easiest way to move a group through the reeds as suggested by Yahoo!7 Answers? Sounds good for followers but what's in it for the leader?

Movement in a column is always the fastest way to move when there are obstacles, and there are always obstacles on the ground. If the group has to swim through some reeds, or go around an angry heron, it's easiest to just follow the leader. Swimming in a spread out formation requires teamwork which most animals aren't willing to commit to.

In addition, moving behind the leader allows you to draft, reducing the amount of drag you face, but this is only relevant if you are pretty close.

Source:Yahoo!7 Answers

A little about Mallards

The Mallard is a rare example of both Allen's Rule and Bergmann's Rule in birds. Bergmann's Rule, which states that polar forms tend to be larger than related ones from warmer climates, has numerous examples in birds. Allen's Rule says that appendages like ears tend to be smaller in polar forms to minimize heat loss, and larger in tropical and desert equivalents to facilitate heat diffusion, and that the polar taxa are stockier overall. Examples of this rule in birds are rare, as they lack external ears. However, the bill of ducks is very well supplied with blood vessels and is vulnerable to cold.

Source: Wikipedia

Night camp

Site 10 - Bosque Bird Watcher's RV Park, San Antonio NM

This is a basic, small Mom & Pop RV Park with full hookups.
Verizon cell phone and Broadband service are available here with a strong signal.
Locate Bosque Bird Watcher's RV Park on my Night Camps map
Click for Google street view
Check the weather in San Antonio NM

Give it, Give it All, Give it Now

One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better. These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water. Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.

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