Waterfowl question

[Frosty]

I always assumed that all of the brown yuk at the bottom of the pool was poop, but did notice that sometimes it seemed sandy of like it had a lot of silt. I also always noticed holes in the dirt around the pool and thought that it was from them trying to drink the water that splashed out. But I have a loose goose (her name is Poop and the other geese keep beating her up for some reason), and she likes to drink from the plant water can. The other day, the can was beside a potted plant and we saw her dig dirt from the plant, then stick her head in the water can. She kept doing this. What are they doing when they do that? Perhaps looking for rocks and rinsing off the dirt? I am just curious...

 

[jenjscott]

I'm not sure what they're doing, but we always called it goobering up the water. If you watch them in the muddy water they swish their bill back and forth while opening and closing it rapidly. They do the same thing after picking up a mouthful of dirt then stick their head in the water dish. Maybe their filtering it for the good stuff!

 

[DuckyBoys]

I thnik it is called dabbling. They are looking for something interesting to eat - like bugs and plant matter! Mine love to dabble in the mud even more than they like swimming in the pools. It makes a funny sound too - I love it.