Spring is in the Air

Mating Season!

Hikingdan is out on the trails again! I LOVE IT!

Earlier this week, I was able to get out and hike down by the shoreline of Lake Ontario on some of the water front trails. I always look and listen to the animals and nature around me. Stopping to notice the wonderful things around me, is what makes hiking so addictive.

I became quickly amused whilst hiking by what I had seen going on with water birds, specifically the ducks, geese, and swans.

Have you ever stopped to notice their behaviour during this time of year? Spring really brings out a lot of Showing Off with these birds.

I watched the males put on their “BEST SHOW”, in order to attract a potential mate. I watched them prance around, puff out and expose their colourful feathers, attempt to chase other males away from the one female they were most interested in, and flap their feathers and fly towards their chosen female.

Why do they do it? Is it simply all to impress them? Do they do whatever they can to stand out, capture the female’s attention, and possibly attract her as a mate! After all its Spring, and “coupling” seemed to be in the air!

I have also watched the females totally ignore certain males, fly away, squeak and nip at them to leave them alone , and finally, as a last resort, retreat to a group of other females for safety.

What struck me to be the MOST interesting was that I noticed so many similarities between what the humans and the birds do.

When I started really looking around, the similarities became amazingly clear.

As I hiked, I started to look at people. I saw couples walking hand in hand. Men puffing their chests as they walked with that female they wanted to captivate. The laughing, giggling, antics, and showboating that went on was quite humourous

I saw others walking in groups, eyeing that one special female hoping to grab her attention. Did they make sure they wore the right outfit? What did they do to stand out and capture that special someone’s attention?  I honestly feel that we can be exactly like the animals prancing about this time of year.

Some females seemed captivated immediately, others seemed as if they were checking over all possible suitors in order to pick the best one; the provider.

I wondered what they looked for? A strong mate, an aggressive mate, a beautiful attractive mate, a mate that put on a good show, a mate with a dorky look, a foolish mate that amused them, or a mate that seemed to have a great personality and would provide well?

Do they ever feel that once mated, that they chose the wrong one? Should they have looked in other ponds or places before settling? What happens if they choose the wrong mate? How does that turn out?

Is it easy to stay with the one you know or take a huge risk and go it alone?

Who knows? I was actually talking about the birds, but you see how easy it is to draw comparisons to humans? It’s amazing if you look at it.

Partnered Birds:

I also noticed some of the other birds who had mates.

Were they sad? Were they bored with their choice? Were they happy that they found “the one”?

Whilst others were aggressively trying to mate, were they simply happy to renovate their nest for the season?

Swans mate for life. Do they look at the others with envy as they chase new partners every year and they can not because they are taken? Or are they happy with their lifetime mate and happy not to have to become involved in that scene?

Do the Geese and Ducks purposefully look at other mates the following year because they can?

NO matter what you think of this post, no matter how ridiculous you feel it is, I encourage you to put on your jogging shoes, get outside, hike or walk, and start to notice the frenzy that is happening at tis time of year. You may just chuckle! Go ahead, hike and draw your own conclusions.

I walked 20 Km that day without even thinking about it because my mind was focused on birds and their mating.

Try it, go hike, go walk, find out what you notice and think about while enjoying the outdoors!