We haven’t really talked about who hangs out with who at the Bottoms. Right now, with ice on the pond and duck hunters in the marsh, the only flocks are small groups of ducks at a time and gobs of geese and gulls sticking together in this part of the migration. There are a few groups of White-faced Ibis still here, but they won’t stay much longer. That one group of 13 Whooping Cranes was the largest group I have seen in several years. We had about 20 in a group at Quivira one year.

We occasionally see a duck that has resulted from crossbreeding between species. Mallard/Pintail and a few others will produce odd ducks. Mostly, however, each species sticks together, and they all will join forces only if there is frozen or limited water. They cross party lines if there is trouble. In our mars

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