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| Mama Goose in the front and Daddy Goose in the back -- he's keeping an eye on me! |
Each spring at the lake, we are inundated with Canadian Geese. I love the geese, especially when the goslings are newly hatched and still yellow/grey and fluffy. The adults are one of the most dedicated parents I have ever seen -- I have actually seen them threaten cars that slow down to catch a look at them!
These geese that I photographed are in a small body of water located across the road from the bigger lake. Throughout the day, the geese will leave this water, and with Mom in the lead and Dad bringing up the tail, they will march those babies over to the big lake and later on, back to this small area of water. Daddy Goose is the one who honks, barks and hisses at anything that looks remotely close to a threat. Cars will stop to allow the family to cross the road and Dad doesn't get too upset over the cars -- but watch out if you get out of the car to take a photo!! When you see a goose stand up straight and spread his wings and start hissing, you better move outta the way and fast!
The geese families often hang out together and create a crèche -- with a few adults and many goslings. They're very family-oriented!
Canadian Geese are monogamous -- they mate for life. A few years ago, we witnessed the death of one of the parents, and her mate stayed by her body for a very long time. He wouldn't allow anybody near her! When one of the pair does die, the remaining goose will eventually find a new mate.
The two geese families I photographed here each had three babies. We've seen families with as few as a single babe -- and as many as 18!
As the goslings grow older, they begin looking like mini versions of Mom and Dad. The families stay together all summer long. I've read that they stay together for an entire year but by the end of the summer, they don't hang out at the lake as much, so I don't see them. By the end of the summer, it's impossible to tell the adults from their children.
These babies are less than a week old. At the end of the first week after they hatch, they start losing the yellow color. When they are a few weeks old and much bigger, we do our best to keep them out of our yard because geese are pooping machines and will leave a disaster on the lawn!
I stayed in the car to take these photos:
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| Family #1 with three babies |
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| Baby geese can swim immediately and can also dive and swim underwater |
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| Family #2 also with three babies. I can only see two in the photo. |
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| They were along the side of the road until we stopped the car for a photo. |
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| Heading into the water. I still only see two babies. |
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| Now all three babies are visible |
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| And into the water they go... |
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| I think they're happier away from our car. :) |
Thanks for visiting!!
I will be linking to the following fantastic parties this week:
Anything Goes Party at Type A
