Birds, Photography
Six Friends, Swimming
Canada Geese are admirable and beautiful birds
I have friends who golf who hate them. “They ruin golf courses,” they tell me. The golfers and others who decry what Canada geese leave behind have my sympathy, but I sympathize more with the Geese.
This Spring, a group of non-migratory Canada Geese arrived at the river near my home on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Among the visitors was a family of six Geese: mom, dad, and four goslings. Since their arrival, I have looked for them daily, sometimes with a camera.
Canada Geese deserve our respect. The National Audubon Society tells us that the birds were once highly endangered, but conservation efforts have helped them recover.
Audubon also tells us that Canadian geese mate for life. Such behavior is becoming rare in humans.
My Goose family includes four goslings. Audubon tells us the goslings can learn to swim within one day after hatching. Amazing.
Perhaps more impressive is the way the goslings obey their parents. The goslings line behind mom (or is that dad?) as they swim across the river—incredible discipline. Later in life, the same Geese will fly above my house in a perfect V formation. They will announce their flight with loud honking.
Reading about the Geese taught me that the birds have between 20,000 and 25,000 feathers. An ornithologist must have devoted a couple of years to making the count.
© Copyright 2024 John E. Dean, all rights reserved.
