Water birds have been discovering the reconditioned lake at Spring Lake Park. Twenty-canada five or so Canada geese have settled back into the environs around the lake, and recently, two ducks have claimed the area as home.
"As you see, it doesn't take long for things to make their way back," said Jared Laing, wetlands and waterfowl specialist with Texas Parks and Wildlife based in Tyler, Texas.
"Birds as a general rule key in on food and disturbances. You're seeing the results of less disturbance, and the local wildlife should return quickly," he said.
Some may think the two are a mated pair, but they are more likely just a flock of two, as they are two drakes.
"Both are likely domesticated," Laing said, "One
is colored like a wild bird (the blue-headed mallard), and the other is a cross between domestic and
wild coloration."
Wild ducks generally migrate to and breed in the northern latitudes, almost as far north as the Arctic Circle depending on species, and migrate to the southern latitudes for winter.
The birds make up one more indication of a thriving ecosphere in the Spring Lake Park lake, post-dredging. Plants can be seen growing, and various aquatic insects flit about, like whirligig beetles. Turtles have been inhabiting the area during the whole dredging process and have quickly moved into the renewed lake. Also, the fish are in the process of being restocked.
The dredging project, costing about $875,000, began about a year ago and was declared completed just a few months ago. Since then, the birds have been finding their way back.
The dredging brought the pond's depth to 10 feet, giving the animals there plenty of room to move around. Also, the shores of the pond were stabilized with gabion baskets to ensure the lake's new boundary will be structurally stable.