Duck Path

The footpath that I take from Farnbourough North station to Frimley each morning runs alongside the River Blackwater.  On the other side of the path from the river are a series of lakes, probably flooded gravel pits.  At one point, one of the lakes comes within a few metres of the river and the footpath squeezes between them.  It was here that, a few months ago I noticed a sort of beaten track coming up out of the river, crossing the footpath and descending into the lake on the other side.  At the time I conjectured that this might be a 'path' made by ducks and geese taking the shortest route between the lake and the river.  Well, last night I got my first confirmation of this conjecture: in the half-dark, I saw a pair of mallard ducks using this 'path'  to cross from the river to the lake.  This 'duck path' is fairly well defined, the grass is completely worn away, and the earth shows signs of erosion as it descends the banks on either side.  This suggests that ducks and maybe geese must use it fairly frequently.