The Daily Bucket–Ducks flee flooded foliage.

The January rains struck parts of NW Oregon with near-biblical storms. Bethany Lake flooded to new heights. Two inches fell overnight and never let up.

The Wood Duck Island vanished. The shallow turbid muddy stream turned into a 100-foot-wide version of a real river. While I’ve often joked this weather is good for ducks, the dipping ducks and even the herons prefer shallower water.

The local geese and ducks spent the day on Wood Duck Island in drier times.

I wonder about the hydrogeology. Do colliding flows from the two channels allow mud to accumulate? Was there once a large island that’s eroded? Did nutria et al strip away the vegetation and allow the island to degrade?

In warmer times rushes and other plants provide succor on Wood Duck Island. Mallards pictured.

The goose and his mallard posse move upstream to shallower backwaters in the far reaches of the floodplain.

The goose lolling around on WD Island on a warmer day.

Thanks for reading Part Two of this Three-Part Series of The Daily Bucket. Expect the next Bucket on this theme of the flooding Lake, in a week (+-).

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January 24, 2021

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