The first part of this week, it rained cats and dogs. Or should I say, cormorant and ducks?
I was passing through Duke Gardens in a drizzle-turned-downpour-turned-drizzle on Tuesday when I discovered a different perspective of the place. It was as though, for a brief moment, the Gardens belonged solely to its ‘natural’ inhabitants—the wildlife.
As I traveled the main path between the Historic Garden and Asiatic Arboretum, a gaggle of ducks congregated along the walk, wading in the puddles and grooming their feathers.
I looked to my right, toward the garden pond in the Asiatic Arboretum. Behold! there was a double-crested cormorant perched on the bank. It was the first cormorant I’d ever seen at the Gardens.

A double-crested cormorant along the edge of the garden pond. — W.L. Culberson Asiatic Arboretum at Duke Gardens; Durham, NC
The cormorant decided on a dip, swimming around the pond with its hooked bill tipped upwards. Perched nearby was a large duck with a bright red beak. It was a stout sight that looked like a cross between a rooster, a turkey, and goose. It was, in fact, a male muscovy duck.

A double-crested cormorant takes a rainy-day swim as a muscovy duck stands along the bank. — Asiatic Arboretum at Duke Gardens in Durham, NC
One by one, the mallards cleared the path, taking flight and touching down on the garden pond, making way for me to pass. As I did so, I looked to my left—over by the Iris Bridge along the edge of the Historic Garden—and saw something that surpassed the mallards and muscovy and rivaled the double-crested cormorant. It was a Great Blue Heron perched atop a weeping tree, right there in the middle of the pouring rain.

On a rainy day, this Great Blue Heron heads for higher ground down by the Iris Bridge in the Historic Garden at Duke Gardens. (Durham, NC)
The rain tapered to a drizzle. Much of the wildlife retreated beneath the trees or behind the brush, and the Gardens slowly filled with visitors once again.
Nice. Is this the day you fell?
Sent from my iPhone
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Yes. ((Blush))