Drained Duck Pond
June 27, 2007 at 2:38 pm 6 comments
Stopped by the Virginia Tech Duck Pond after lunch today. It’s not the most pretty sight, but the animals are adapting. Nearby pools of water remain in tact for the ducks. A heron seemed to rather enjoy the easy hunting in the shallow waters. Blackbirds congregated in a mini stream that ran through what remains of the pond. For some ducks, it is business as usual as they swarmed around a family with bread.
Here’s a comparison shot between last Friday and today. You’ll have to look in the background– the foreground is a mini-pond that is in tact:
Duck Pond June 22, 2007
Duck Pond June 27, 2007
As expected, there was a lot of debris on the bottom. Golf balls, beer cans, barrells, bottles, cups. Traffic cones seemed to be pretty popular as well. I saw at least three. At one point, the heron found one half submerged traffic cone to be a convenient perch.
Overview of the pond
Two ducks cross the barren landscape
Blackbirds congregate at some remaining water
Barrells and trash in the mud
A worker boats in remaining water
Heron with a traffic cone
Lines of police cars on the grass
More Drained Duck Pond pictures can be found on my Flickr site.
Entry filed under: Duck Pond, Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech Massacre.
TGAW 
1.
Clint | June 27, 2007 at 2:40 pm
I don’t understand the yellow police tape. Somehow mud is more dangerous than water???
I also wonder if all this was truly necessary.
2.
tgaw | June 27, 2007 at 2:44 pm
There are police in the pond doing a search. I don’t think they are keeping you from the mud– they are keeping you from interfering.
3.
tgaw | June 27, 2007 at 2:44 pm
This article has a good shot that show what the searchers are up against:
http://www.roanoke.com/vtinvestigation/wb/122233
4.
geekhiker | June 27, 2007 at 3:07 pm
I’m curious, is this a natural pond or an artificial one that they’re draining? Either way, high school students should be swarming it right now, microscope slides at the ready!
5.
tgaw | June 27, 2007 at 3:09 pm
@geekhiker– It is man-made. They dammed a creek in 1937 to create the pond.
6.
tgaw | June 30, 2007 at 10:51 pm
Another Flickr user has a few duck pond draining pictures up as well:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevincupp/tags/duckponddrain/