Look! A bird!

[Langue_doc]

Bird mystery--a couple of weeks ago, the goose family had five goslings. Last Sunday, I heard that only four goslings had been sighted the previous Thursday (I saw five on Wednesday). Yesterday, there were six goslings in the family, presumably the same one, because of the size of the youngins. Ebird reports for the same dates confirm my sightings, so how did the two new goslings, also reported on Ebird, that are the same size/age of the other four materialize? Were they hiding when I and other birders reported having seen five, and then at least one other birder reported having seen four? One of the ebirders suggested that they could have been adopted, but if so, where are the parents, and how did they get orphaned/stranded?

[FishProf]

Geese will form a creche so you may be seeing a mix of 2+ broods.

[Langue_doc]

That might account for the extra goslings. Last year though, the goose family raised its two goslings all the way from around May through October when all four of them were more or less the same size. This was in the same area as this year's brood. The mallard family wasn't so fortunate as the three duckings dwindled to two, then one, and then none. Snapping turtles in the pond get to the chicks. Mama duck didn't seem too intelligent as she ran toward me on one occassion, last duckling in tow, looking for a handout. There was only mama duck just a few days later.

[FishProf]

snapping turtles are adroit at picking off the last duckling/gosling in the line.  A little ripple, and then gone.  Parents tend not to notice.

[Langue_doc]

The goose family is down to five goslings. Four of the goslings, presumably from the original brood, looked about three or four days older than the fifth, which must have been the sibling of the missing adoptee. I've seen snapping turtles in that pond that were more than a foot across. Poor gosling!

[apl68]

Just this morning I saw that the geese there had a couple of young that I'd never seen before.  I've seen little ducks there before, but not geese.

[Sea_Ice]

Screeching Great Crested Flycatcher fledgling, chasing a parent.  Many years they've lost the early nestlings to crows, so this was a real delight!

[apl68]

The geese at the city park are in the habit of cruising around the upper pond in a flotilla and coming ashore at various points.  It beats me what their criteria are for picking a landing place.  Anyway, this morning I saw a lone fisherman standing on the bank by a picnic table, casting his line.  The whole gaggle came straight for him.  They had the whole pond to choose from, and they had to harass that poor fisherman!  He reeled in his line and relocated while the geese milled and squawked around him.  I can only imagine his annoyance.

[Sea_Ice]

The geese at the city park are in the habit of cruising around the upper pond in a flotilla and coming ashore at various points.  It beats me what their criteria are for picking a landing place.  Anyway, this morning I saw a lone fisherman standing on the bank by a picnic table, casting his line.  The whole gaggle came straight for him.  They had the whole pond to choose from, and they had to harass that poor fisherman!  He reeled in his line and relocated while the geese milled and squawked around him.  I can only imagine his annoyance.

It's possible that, to a goose mind, the casting motion resembled someone throwing bread or other food for them.  Disappointment all around, I'm sure!

[AmLitHist]

I was out early this morning with Kid #1, headed to the grocery store. Ahead of us, oncoming traffic had to wait after the light changed to green, to allow the stragglers of about 25 Canada geese to finish crossing the road. Their little feet were really moving!

I also saw a HUGE wild turkey hen by the road on the way back home from her farmhouse. (We saw two deer in separate places, as well.)

[Langue_doc]

Checked in on the goose family. All five seem to be still there. They were on the other side of the pond, so I couldn't be sure if there were 3 adults and 4 goslings, or if it was the two adults with the five goslings I saw last week. Two egrets, in two different ponds, one of them spearing fish or some aquatic creature, and the other languidly searching for morsels in the water.

[sinenomine]

I just saw a bald eagle fly over the parking lot behind my house.

[apl68]

This morning I got close enough to the park's little geese to hear them.  They make cute little chirping sounds.  I had supposed that they would already be squawking like their elders.  It was a pleasant surprise.

[FishProf]

Had to travel cross-country, but added a Cassin's Kingbird to my life list.

[Langue_doc]

On the way to the PT appointment--long drive, three lanes most of the way--I saw what looked like three large vultures. On the way back, sitting in bumper to bumper traffic, a great egret flew majestically over the roadway, neck stretched out in front, and feet stretched back. Made my day! Later, an osprey soared above, flying rather low. There were other birds, but it's never a good idea to try to identify birds when driving.