“To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter; to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in Spring — these are some of the rewards of the simple life.” ~ John Burroughs (American naturalist)
This quote sums up a recent early morning walk at Lake Erie Metropark. It was the first full day of Spring and I’d not visited this venue since mid-October. Since I bought my first Metropark pass in the Summer of 2018, I’ve made at least 15 trips to Lake Erie Metropark for walking or enjoying interpretative classes, both on land or two-hour informative cruises.
But this visit was my absolute favorite because, despite the blah landscape, the sun cast stunning reflections on the still water and it was so serene and peaceful as I took it all in.
My first photo of the day captured the pair of Canada geese silently snoozing as seen above. This is in stark contrast to the ordinarily fractious geese who are either honking while flying, or hissing and flapping their wings at one another, or humans they deem threatening to them or their family. (However, goose histrionics would disturb the peace a few minutes later, so I am glad I enjoyed this moment.)
There was not even a hint of a breeze on this morning marsh meander, so the reflections of long-dead Phragmites and reeds looked especially golden.
Hiss and Her.
Every Spring, the Council Point Park walkers eagerly await the arrival of the sweet and fuzzy goslings toddling after their parents. If we’re lucky, maybe we’ll catch a glimpse of a stream of ducklings queued up behind Mama Mallard. But I’ve yet to discover a nest for any of these waterfowl. Where are their hideaways? They don’t sit on a nest that is as easily identifiable as Chloe the Cottontail’s home – that’s for sure. So, where are those locations where eggs are incubated, then quickly morphs into a nursery, just before we begin to ooh and aah over the passels of Springtime babies?
Not long into my trek at Lake Erie Metropark, I came upon something I have never seen in my many trips to shoreline venues, nor my daily jaunts to Council Point Park – that something was a Canada Goose sitting on a nest.
I am assuming it was her mate, the gander, that positioned himself in front of this nest structure to guard his mate and impending family. Luckily, I was far enough away that they paid no attention to me, so I could watch and take some photos of the pair.
But soon another Canada Goose flew too close to the nest and hubby went ballistic as you see below. It flew out of the water in a rage and chased that bad boy, er … interloper, out of Dodge.
All this drama to protect his Missus. I was smiling as I watched the scene through the lens, while happily clicking my camera’s shutter button.
But then a minute later the “warrior” returned and marital bliss quickly dissolved as Mister returned to the nest with an attitude, so undeserving for Missus (in my humble opinion). But maybe I shouldn’t rise to her defense; after all, was she batting her eyelashes at another gander?
Look what happened next – check out the gander’s expressions. Hmm.
Missus was just not going to tolerate Mister’s hissy fit, so she walked away and didn’t return until the drama ceased.
In the end it was all good and they made up, but really?! Yes, I’m scratching my head too.
I took more photos as I meandered along the Cherry Island Trail for the first time in about two years, as that path was either washed out or horribly muddy. Those photos will show a beaver’s handiwork in a future Wordless Wednesday post.
Linda Schaub
