Spring here in Southeast Michigan has really been nothing special. May’s incessant rain has made our days dreary and dismal, with sunny days few and far between. It has been raining since noon on Friday, sometimes torrential downpours, and off-and-on thunderstorms. So, I slept in late on this soggy Saturday, since I knew it would be a stay-at-home day, and likely Sunday too, unless the rain finally ends. Sigh.
But, I have been busy gathering my photos for Mother’s Day weekend blog posts, which I will use rain or shine.
The first part of this post involves the second sighting of goslings at Council Point Park last Wednesday.
As I rounded the perimeter path at the old twisted tree, there they were, the goslings and their parents, grazing by the blue metal park bench. I’d have liked it better if they weren’t so close to the bench and I had a clearer view of the entire family, but I wasn’t about to shout “hey you guys – move over to the left a little would you?” The family was fairly close to the walking path, so I left the path and stood on the nearby grass to get a better look at them, and thus avoid getting the gander riled up.
It was then I noticed a second family of geese near the dense, still-dead swamp grass. They were headed to the water for swimming lessons. I figured it was my lucky day, though I’d have been a tad luckier had I arrived a few minutes earlier, as I might have had two gaggles of geese and a double dose of cute goslings for my post.
I took a few more pictures, stepped back onto the perimeter path and fed some of my furry pals, then heard some commotion. I turned around and a crowd was gathering by the goose family.
I watched some of these folks from afar as they stepped off the path and onto the grass toward the family. The gander hissed, but there was no wing flapping. Someone had brought food for the geese – bread perhaps – something in tidbits which could be thrown out. By then, both the male and female were hissing, and the babies – what do you think they were doing?
Well, if your kid is eating his veggies and someone offers up a chocolate chip cookie, those veggies are going to be abandoned in favor of a cookie in a heartbeat. Those goslings took off running, er … waddling, toward the bread, eager to abandon the grass they had just been grazing on.
When I uploaded the photos later and realized I cut the top of the gosling’s head off, I was disappointed, but I’m using it anyway – it shows his (or her) exuberance at seeing the treats.
The goslings’ parents had calmed down somewhat and did not take any of the tidbits for themselves, but had a watchful eye over their babies the entire time. That sudden intrusion of humans on the little clan gave me an opportunity for more photos, though I still hung back, thinking that the parents will remember this interaction, and I don’t want them associating me with it a few weeks from now, and charging after me. Now, you might scoff at that idea, but hear me out. A few years ago I brought a couple of bags of bread for the geese, and, there I was amidst a gaggle of them, throwing out yeasty tidbits and feeling at peace with nature … that is, until I got to the bottom of the second bag. The geese who were fed waddled off, but about a dozen newcomers who missed out on the treat, came after me. Yikes! Suddenly this girl was not giggling over the gaggle of geese, but sprinting for her life to merge into a group of walkers. Yup – I learned my lesson that day and I’ve never brought treats for the Canada geese since.
Even after the crowd departed, Mom and Dad were still having a hissy fit. I did take some additional photos, without the pesky park bench being in the way, and this was my favorite as they walked away, perhaps for a swim with their brethren. Guess they don’t follow the wait-for-an-hour-after-you-eat-to-go-swimming rule.
Well goslings … goodbye for now.
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Now, it’s time to return to the robin family in Richmond, Virginia. As you know from two prior posts, my friend Evelyn has faithfully documented the robin family since they built the nest, then laid the eggs, and the emergence of the hatchlings.
Maybe it was her newfound “grandmother instincts” settling in, but Evelyn fussed over the trio of chicks like a mother hen. She called the vet to see if she could get something for the babies’ diet to supplement what the parents brought, but the vet said the chicks would be fine and not to worry.
The vet was right. As you see below, Mama Robin arrived, as if on cue, beak open to drop some grub into one of those hungry mouths.
Slowly but surely, those helpless and scrawny babies born last week are starting to look more like robins. The size of their beaks just amazes me and I’ve remarked to Evelyn “when will they grow into their beaks?” They remind me a little of Daffy Duck in these photos. I love that they are already clamoring for food and today one chick had an eye open. Evelyn says the parents are leaving the nest more to retrieve nourishment to feed their young. The following photos are from each of the past four days:
05/09/18
05/10/18
05/11/18
05/12/18
This last picture, I would like to caption: “Hi Mom, I’m awake and I see you, so I’m opening my mouth so you can just drop in a few grubs and meal worms, okay?”
Isn’t nature grand?
As I finish up this post, I am thinking about the episode this week where the red-winged blackbird, attacked the robin sitting on her nest. That blackbird was way bigger, but the Mama Robin fought that red-winged blackbird, who likely wanted to steal the eggs or babies from the nest. That mom was devoted to her young, hatched or still in the shell.
I’ll leave you with this quote:
A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world.
It knows no law, no pity.
It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.
~Agatha Christie
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Wow, it’s fun to watch them grow! It looks like mommy and daddy robin will have to look for a larger house if their offspring decide to live with them much longer 🙂
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Isn’t it amazing? I am glad you like those photos. I did too and my friend has the perfect vantage point to watch them. They are almost too big for the mom to still be sitting on the nest. Unfortunately, we were having some rumbles of thunder and still another storm rolling in (we’ve had 3 inches of rain since noon on Friday) and I had the wrong photo for 05/10 (the second photo of the robins. I was proofreading with an ear for the thunder and took another look when I returned. This photo for 05/10 was very sweet with its big mouth. So I just updated it: Thanks TJ – I knew you would like these nature photos. Unfortunately, it started to rumble as I was finishing up this post, and I just gave it a quick proofread as I wanted to shut down for the storm. I put the wrong pic in for 05/10 – that was the cutest pic of the bunch with a baby’s mouth wide open. For some reason, WordPress was loading the photos really slow and I made that mistake, so if you get a chance, I have fixed it – take a look at the second pic again. I’ll put the link at the bottom, so it is handy. We are only at 50 degrees and have had 3 inches of rain since Friday at noon! 🙂
https://lindaschaubblog.net/2018/05/12/a-soggy-saturday-glimpses-of-goslings-and-the-robins-are-growing-up/
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Totally love your photos! And what a treat to watch the goslings grow up. 🙂
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Thanks TJ – I knew you would like these nature photos. Unfortunately, it started to rumble as I was finishing up this post, and I just gave it a quick proofread as I wanted to shut down for the storm. I put the wrong pic in for 05/10 – that was the cutest pic of the bunch with a baby’s mouth wide open. For some reason, WordPress was loading the photos really slow and I made that mistake, so if you get a chance, I have fixed it – take a look at the second pic again. I’ll put the link at the bottom, so it is handy. We are only at 50 degrees and have had 3 inches of rain since Friday at noon! 🙂
https://lindaschaubblog.net/2018/05/12/a-soggy-saturday-glimpses-of-goslings-and-the-robins-are-growing-up/
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Perfectly darling pictures, Linda! 🙂 Quite a dandy treat for Mother’s Day, too.
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Glad you liked these “baby pictures” Uncle Tree. And, the robins are no longer as icky looking as when they were newborns and can actually pass for robins now. They sure were a face only a mother could love.
Evelyn texted me another picture of the robins this morning and even more dark feathers, eyes open, and ready to take on the world!
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Miss Linda………………………..I loved the pictures …………….thank you…………………it’s supposed to rain tomorrow morning again!!
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I’m glad you liked those pictures Ann Marie and I have looked at the swan pictures you sent me. The reflection of the swan and I love the swan plunging into the pond for food.
The goslings are growing in leaps and bounds and they must have been somewhere secluded as they couldn’t have gotten that large in such a short amount of time. The robins are really looking like birds finally.
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great shots,
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Thank you Andy.
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So big the goslings have been. Wonderful shots of the robins cute chicks, amazing to see them so close. Thanks for sharing this great pictures Linda!😊
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Glad you enjoyed these John. I can’t believe how big the gosling are – I don’t know where they were hiding when they were smaller. I got another picture this morning of the robin from my friend and just in 24 hours’ time, it is amazing how the feathers have filled in. I’ll collect all the rest of the robin pics til they are fledged, and post them altogether. I am enjoying watching them grow as well. 🙂
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So cute!!! Great pictures!
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Thanks Diane – I’m glad you enjoyed them.
The babies grow up so quickly and soon they’ll be almost as big as their parents.
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a great Mothers day salute Linda!
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Thanks Wayne – those goslings are adorable. We’ve had three solid days of rain and rain most of tomorrow. By the time I return to the Park, the goslings might be all grown up!
The robins were making great progress and my friend sent me pictures yesterday and today, but, a sad note … this morning, a black 5-foot snake found the nest and ate one baby, and dropped another baby when he saw Evelyn, but it was already dead. They were only 9 days old. Evelyn picked up this snake, coiled him into an old flower pot and put a piece of glass on top and took him to the end of the street to a wooded area and set him free. One chick remains. I’m feeling a little sad … I will tell everyone here because I’ve done three posts on the robin babies, since they were just eggs and people were enjoying monitoring their progress, me included. I’ll wait to see if the chick is still alive tomorrow morning or if the snake returns.
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Nature does seem to have it’s own rules….
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