Ok…like everyone else I am thrilled beyond reason about Lake Chapala’s ascendancy in the past few months. There is water where I have never seen it before, covering most of the paths where I used to walk with my dogs. There are trees underwater, there are fences underwater and there are WAVES!
So maybe this is the beginning of the beginning, the restoration of Lake Chapala as a viable ecosystem…. maybe we will see this bounty of water replenished year after year through wise water management, not just from the providence of the heavens which unleashed the copious rains this summer.
Maybe the water accords from the early 1990’s will be honored, perhaps legislation will be passed making Chapala an ecologically protected zone…
Maybe the water accords from the early 1990’s will be honored, perhaps legislation will be passed making Chapala an ecologically protected zone…
And, maybe, maybe this will be the year I see a Masked Duck on Lake Chapala!
Who is that Masked Duck you might ask? Well, the Masked Duck is a rare and elusive species of duck that had historically been recorded in the marshes of Lake Chapala, but that was before the marshes of Lake Chapala were extirpated in the early 1900’s. (The marshes were drained to provide farmland.) The description of the area, as recorded later by C. B. Nordhoff in the ornithological journal, Condor, in 1922 is glowing:
“The freshwater marshes of Lake Chapala in the state of Jalisco, Mexico form another haven for waterfowl. At one end of the lake, there is a great area of flooded land, cut by a veritable labyrinth of channels…The far interior of this swampy paradise…is a vast sanctuary for waterfowl, a region of gently rolling damp prairies, set with small ponds, and traversed by a network of navigable channels leading to the great lake. I saw as many geese as I have ever seen…and the numbers of ducks was past belief...with some interesting species like the Masked Duck…”
The sighting of the Masked Duck is a feather in any birder’s cap…They are hard to find, secretive, and in fact, only emerge into open water to feed at night. Normally, they skulk along vegetation and are quite shy. A smallish duck, about 13 inches long, the male looks quite distinctive in breeding plumage, as he has a black face on a reddish brown head, offset by a bright blue bill. In winter, he resembles the females and juveniles of the species, with his bright colors in eclipse, and two dark stripes crossing his face instead.
The Masked Duck is related to the Ruddy Duck, which also has a blue bill in breeding season. It is still possible to see the Ruddy Duck, along with the Cinnamon, Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal on Chapala, as well as the larger Fulvous Whistling Duck, Mexican mallards, Northern Shovelers and Pintails but not in the huge numbers of the past.
The duck population on Chapala has been down for many years, due both to the loss of appropriate habitat of marshy areas and in part due to the lower water levels and subsequent decline in food supply.
It is important to review what has been and what could be. Lake Chapala is now over the critical mark of 3,000 millions of cubic meters. For the first time in 10 years boats are docking at the pier in Chapala. There is national and international attention on the lake’s plight, and while we are all joyous at the recuperation so far, much remains to be done to restore Chapala to the great ecosystem, abundant with birds, fish, animals and clean water, it was once. For me, a further signal of hope would be the return of the Masked Duck.
