Got to the river this morning just after high tide. We've had a lot of rain -- it was raining when I went down there, is still raining now -- so the water was extra-high. A crowd of seven aggressive Canada geese swam around the pilings, nibbling at the yummy moss that grows near the tops, where they usually can't reach. One swam up to a piling where a pair of sparrows hopped around, pecking at bugs. They didn't see him coming. He let loose with a honk like a car horn and they hightailed it out of there. Meanwhile, a male Gadwall flew in a frantic-duck circle and landed by the pilings. Two male Gadwalls have been spotted down here together, so we think we have two nesting females. Boys' night out, you know, while the girls are on the nests? This one, who showed up alone, is the boyfriend of the female I think was stepping out with the mallard. A few minutes after he splashed down, she flew in and landed next to him. They proceeded to paddle a little, eat a little, groom a little. Then she lifted off, followed by him, circled, and swooped into the bushes behind me. Not the same spot as last year, but now I know where this year's nest is. It's equally unlikely, by the way; but last year's worked fine, o me of little faith. The clueless boyfriend returned to the water, where he stuck his head under his wing and took a nap, on rolling waves, in the rain, and surrounded by ravenous, aggressive Canada geese, about whom he did not give a fig.