No matter the stage …
… or the age …
… a mother’s love is universal, human or otherwise. I’m sure we will all identify with this quote:
“The power of a mother’s love is greater than any force on earth.” – Anonymous
I was on baby watch in the month of April.
It all began with a trip to Heritage Park on Saturday, April 2nd. While walking around that park’s man-made pond, a/k/a Coan Lake, I discovered a Mama Goose sitting on a nest. nestled in the boulders near the covered bridge. I shared those photos in a Wordless Wednesday post entitled “Stone Age Goose”.
At the time I mused that this was not the comfiest of spots to be sitting for a month’s duration, but I recalled another Canada Goose sitting on a nest in the same location last year – perhaps the same Mama Goose?
My Easter eggs were a treat, but were neither chocolate nor cream-filled.
April 17th was Easter Sunday and I visited this venue again. I follow the Botanical Gardens on Facebook and they were touting their newly planted Spring flowers. I thought I’d take photos of those cheery Daffodils, Hyacinths and Tulips to contrast with any photos of the several inches of snow we were to receive the very next day.
Easter Sunday was very chilly and windy. Unbelievably I was the only one walking at this popular venue. I decided to check on Mama Goose and strolled over to her rocky perch. Imagine my surprise, not to mention my delight, to see Mama off the nest, stretching her legs and having a drink of water. She didn’t notice me as I stood under the covered bridge and evidently Papa Goose was not around.
I took a few shots of the nest from the bridge, then inched ever so slowly toward the unattended nest. Mama Goose saw me, but paid me no mind as she picked her way around the boulders. I could not believe the size of the eggs. I took my shots then slowly walked backward so I could continue watching the nest and Mama’s movements.
She approached the nest and began plucking at her downy feathers, letting them drift gently into and around the nest.
She bent down close to the nest – was she counting noses, er … future beaks?
After a few minutes, she plopped down and began her incubating duties anew.
I never did see Papa Goose – no telling where he was, but I was pleased to be able to get close to Mama and the nest and marveled at my good fortune in arriving at just the right time.
The next day, as predicted, we had a wintry mix bringing snow throughout Southeast Michigan. In my part of town, we received two inches of the white stuff. I worried about Mama – would she be okay?
Oh no – did Mama Goose just vamoose?
Friday morning, April 22nd was Earth Day and I made another 10-mile round trip visit to Heritage Park. I was dismayed to discover Mama and the nest had vanished from the boulders without a trace. I didn’t even see eggshells from where the hatchlings had emerged!
Quickly, I searched Coan Lake and the sloped grassy area around its perimeter. I took two tours of the historical area and didn’t see the little family. Past experience told me that the parents and their young goslings would not stray far from the water and seeing no sign of them was worrisome. I drove to Council Point Park to get in some more steps and feed the critters there, but in the back of my mind I worried about the welfare of this little goose family.
The next day, Saturday, April 23rd, was a volunteer clean-up event at Heritage Park, so I waited until Sunday to see if I could find the family.
Happily, everyone was present and accounted for – whew!
Well, there they were, lemon-yellow fuzzballs clustered around Mama, dining on dandelions and looking very sweet.
Here are my favorite shots from that day.
I especially liked this one of Mama watching over her brood – all you see is the shadow of her head and neck looming large.
I couldn’t resist and made another trip.
I returned again last Saturday, April 30th. It was a day as gray, gloomy, windy and cold as one could find in Spring. I had planned to go to Lake Erie Metropark but the gray day and impending rain stopped me from driving out to that venue. I was amazed to see how the goslings had grown in one week’s time. While happily taking way too many photos of them, I even got “the stare” and what could pass for a “mini hiss” from a couple of goslings. How quickly they learn to imitate their parents!
Although these photos below may not convey their newfound attitudes, are you able to tell how the goslings have grown?
While I was on baby watch, my blogging friend Barbara, was similarly chronicling the status of her Mama Goose who was sitting on a nest in Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in Mystic, Connecticut. We compared notes and enjoyed the anticipation of the respective hatchlings and first glimpses of those goslings which brought many clicks of the shutter and smiles galore to each of us.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
This is lovely.
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Thank you Anne. It was fun to chronicle the stages of their lives. Happy Mother’s Day to you!
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Oh,you did an excellent job of shooting here Linda! Very good shots!
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Thanks Wayne! I had fun with this post (except for when I went up on Earth Day and Mama and her brood were missing and the nest/eggs were gone). This was my first glimpse of goose eggs and I feel lucky I happened to be there at the right time to see them. I’m sure Mama felt safe strolling around as Heritage Park was empty due to the holiday and the chilly weather, but I was happy that after she saw me, she didn’t race over to plop down on the nest.
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she most likely had seen you enough times to know you were not a threat. That’s a compliment!
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I guess you’re right Wayne as I inched closer to her and she was fine. She was thinking to herself “there’s that lady who keeps taking my picture. What the heck, I’ll give her some memorable shots.” She seemed pensive while standing there. Like seeing her picking downy feathers to line the nest.
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I’m positive that’s what is going on. Familiarity cannot be taught, only learned.
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That makes me feel good that she wasn’t intimidated in the least.
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Geese are generally good mamas.
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Yes they are Kate. They never let their goslings out of their sight.
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They are growing fast! I love all the photos, but the one with the shadow of Mom is so perfect. Mothers always cast a shadow on our lives in one way or another.
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Thank you Eilene – I never noticed the shadow until I saw the photo on the screen. Yes, moms do cast a shadow on our lives, even long after they are gone. The goslings grow so quickly and another few weeks, they’ll be mostly gray with big feet and canoe-shaped bodies. Yesterday at the park where I walk daily, there were three families of goslings, all different sizes. That was my first sighting of them and I didn’t see any of them today.
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Great post Linda! Two thoughts, the eggs are larger than I thought, and did all five hatch? Do you know how long she can be off the nest? Not long I suspect on the colder snowy days?
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Thanks Joni! It was fun doing this post and following the status of Mother Goose, despite the anxious moments on my Earth Day visit. I had no idea the eggs were that large either. I got pretty close to the nest and zoomed in on it and could see five eggs. When when I saw her the last two times at Heritage Park, she had five goslings in tow. On average, there are five to seven eggs. Ducks can have up to a dozen eggs. They stay on the nest for almost a month and only briefly leave to eat or drink. She was drinking water when I saw her, but I didn’t see her eat. That’s why I worried about her and her brood because we had that two-inch snowfall the day after I saw the nest, then I went up on Friday and they were gone. When they are young, they stay on the grass near the water and that’s all. They do cross to the other side of Coan Lake, but they were not anywhere. I wonder if they took shelter near a bush for warmth. It was a very cold week. Yesterday at Council Point Park I saw three families of geese and the goslings were all different sizes. That was my first sighting of them – one brood was very tiny – so cute! There were two sets of six and one set of seven (the smallest ones and I got a picture of them in the water too so it is easier to count them).
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Cute!!! (We went to the zoo today and I took bird photos for you!)
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They were so cute Jeanine and I saw three families yesterday so have more photos to use later this month or early June. Mother’s Day is a perfect day to go to the zoo – did you see any babies there? Hope you got a peacock picture to show me. I thought of you today – we have a baby wallaby escaped from the Detroit Zoo today. Thought of you and your time in Australia. Hope they find him … they said he only recently got “out-of-pouch privileges” and needs his mom. Happy Mother’s Day! (Sorry I missed you due to the time difference.)
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Hi Linda, we actually completely forgot mothers day. (Family still somehow made a card and got some flowers!). There were lots of babies, goats and sheep, donkeys, some sort of deer … too cute! And yes, I was lucky enough to find a peacock! Hubby saw a squirrrel and the tree panda was awake! Good times.
I hope they find the wallaby. They are hard to catch, even if you have experience …
Thanks for thinking of me on Mother’s Day!
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Sounds like a perfect day to me Jeanine. I would love to see the pandas. I may have told you this story when you said you lives in Australia … my mom and I went to see the koalas when they were at a special exhibit at the Toledo Zoo many years ago. The crowds were big to see the exhibit, so I took a vacation day and we went on a weekday to get a bird’s eye view. You are lucky your tree panda was awake – our koalas were not and we kept going back and sleeping each time. They told us that since they only eat eucalyptus leaves, it is not enough to give them energy so they sleep most of the time. As of now, they have not found the wallaby and they’re worried about him being away from his mom for too long.
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I remember that! They sleep more than cats. They are also pretty good at decorating. When they are awake, they sometimes make these odd screaming noises. Somehow the sound doesn’t go together with their cuteness?!? Poor joey. Fingers crossed they still find him.
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Yes, such sweet little souls but odd characteristics about them. When I saw the ad for the koala exhibit, I had collected teddy bears for years (52 of them in fact) and thought this would be fun to see and the ad showed a woman cuddling one in her arms … they never came out of the exhibit, just slept in the trees! Sadly, the poor joey has not been found and there are no more news stories about him. On last night’s news they said the zoo fears he was taken by an air predator, most likely a hawk or an owl. They never gave the size of the joey, just that it had only recently left its mom’s pouch – they said it was just the size of a rabbit, so likely snatched up. I have no doubt about that – I see those hawks cruising overhead at the Park where I walk and one walker said a hawk got a squirrel and carried it off – please don’t let me ever see that. I’ve seen the ravages of mourning doves, a few feathers and a little blood, likely the work of coyotes which we have a few around here.
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Linda, your goslings are adorable! You captured them perfectly along with Mother Goose!
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Thank you Sabine! They sure were so cute and fuzzy and seeing the goose eggs was a first for me and I was just lucky to be there at the right time, as the Mama does not leave the nest except to drink or eat. As I mentioned yesterday, I saw three sets of goslings yesterday; the one set were not very old and huddled in a pile until Mama said “let’s eat, then go for a swim.” We had thousands of dandelions and they were eating those and when I was ready to leave the grasscutters came. This morning all the dandelions were gone and none of the geese/goslings put in an appearance. Happy Mother’s Day to you Sabin!
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Happy Mother’s Day to the woman who takes care of all our furry and feathered friends! Enjoy!
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Thanks Pam – I did go to visit my furry and feathered friends today and yesterday I saw three sets of goslings and parents at the park where I walk daily. Happy Mother’s Day to you Pam!
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Thanks, dear Linda. 💜
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Awe, the collection of photos with your story of the adventure is truly a beautiful way to share this Mother’s Day!
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Thank you so much TD! Once I saw the eggs when Mama was so briefly off the nest, I thought “this will make a fun post, if I can get pics of the goslings in time to prepare a Mother’s Day.” I lucked out, though I had some worries when she and her brood were hiding on Earth Day. Yesterday I was at another park and saw three sets of goslings, all different ages, so there will be another post in the next month.
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Lovely photos! I wonder what happened to the egg shells, weird!
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Thanks Susan! I learned that the mother goose eats the eggs after they hatch. That is normal for them to do that and I learned that from a guy who runs a duck rescue/sanctuary called Michigan Duck Rescue & Sanctuary. I learned about them when I found two very large ducks that appeared at my park I walk daily – they were begging for food. Mallards never do that. Two days in a row they were there. I took pictures and looked for what type of ducks they were. I found Matt’s site on Facebook. He said they were Khaki Campbell domestic ducks and to call him and he or one of his volunteers would come get them and he said they were dumped by someone who didn’t want them anymore. I never saw them again. (You know I worried about them all that Winter.) Last year I saw the Mama duck by a sewer – a slew of ducklings fell through the grates. All but one was rescued, Mama took off, but there was still peeping in the sewer – they rescued that duckling and a neighbor kept it almost a week, Mama Goose didn’t return, so one of Matt’s volunteers came and took it to the sanctuary. They rescue ducks and other waterfowl – the other day Matt showed a poor Pekin duck that had been ravaged by male Pekins, which I learned recently commonplace by Mallards as well.
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That’s interesting and I didn’t know that about eating the shells. So many interesting facts about wildlife, now if I could remember them all!
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I like reading or hearing these tidbits too. I follow several sites on Facebook about nature. I found some odd tracks in the snow on the Creek last year. There is a FB site where you upload pics of tracks and they will I.D. it. They were stumped and finally someone in the group said “a heron walked across the snow on the icy pond!” There is an older walker at the Park and he used to tell me a lot of things. He grew up next to a woodland area and so went out and explored all the time so knew about flora and fauna there. If he sees a new bird at the Park, he goes home and goes through his book til he can I.D. it. We saw a Northern Mockingbird last year … he does not use a computer and found the bird and me … well I was putting in criteria like tail size, plumage, head and body shape and came up with a half-dozen birds fitting the description. I’ve not seen this walker since the Fall as he hurt his foot.
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Wonderful pictures and chronicling of the mama and her nest of eggs! You had great luck getting the pictures of the eggs themselves and now I learned that mama duck plucks her feathers to line her nest. Cool! I had no idea that was a thing.
Thank you Linda for enlightening me about this duck behavior. Happy Mother’s Day to you too! Hugs…
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Thank you Esther! I have never seen goose eggs before and was amazed at the size of them. Pretty amazing to see the nest and her caring for her unborn youngsters too. Speaking of eggs, a fellow blogger who is interested in macro photography took this picture of a robin’s nest, with two newly hatched chicks and one that had not hatched yet, but was trying to peck the shell to come out. Thought you would enjoy seeing this. Will send it in a separate comment in case it goes to SPAM as I’m sending it from the actual site. Hope your Mother’s Day was great!
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Here are the baby Robins for you to peek at, maybe the kids would like to see it too. If you look on Tom’s site, the picture is bigger than in Reader and easier to see the details:
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Wow…cute and creepy at the same time!
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I know – more amazing for having just hatched and kind of laying there. Hard to imagine that in just 14 days after looking like “that” they will fledge. A former co-worker had a robin’s nest and every day she took a picture of them and e-mailed it to me- it was amazing how they grew from this skinny hatchling to fully feathered and ready to leave the nest. Nature is miraculous sometimes.
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Nature is awe-inspiring. I think it’s God’s way of showing Himself to us; magnificent, so awesome it’s fearful, and pure loveliness.
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There is so much to see in nature if we only stop to look around – the old “stop and smell the roses” theme. I once wrote a post about being at the park and looking up, down and all around and knowing that I still didn’t see everything.
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Great post. I love these chicks and all your wonderful pictures.
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Thanks Peggy – glad you enjoyed it. The goslings are so sweet and I felt very lucky to have glimpsed those eggs and be able to tell about it. At my park where I walk daily, there were three families of goslings, so I’ll wait a few weeks and do a post on them as well.
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Oh Linda, these pictures are amazing!!! Those eggs looked huge and I was very surprised that your mama goose had left her nest. (I had read the mothers don’t eat or drink or leave the nest for the 28-30 day incubation ~ one can’t believe everything one reads online. 😉 ) Those goslings grew so much in a week. It must have been adorable having the little ones practice their hissing on you. Beautiful last picture of mother and child enjoying the same spot of grass. Thank you so much for sharing!
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Glad you like them Barbara – I knew you’d get a kick out of seeing the eggs and how Mama Goose so lovingly covered them with down, whether to cushion them or warm them (not sure). I remember there was more down for your goose nest. I also read or heard the same info – the mother goose will continue incubating without leaving the nest, but I wondered how she ate and drank. It’s not like the mate can bring aquatic plants over to the nest. That day the park was empty except for me, so looks like she seized the moment to leave. It is unbelievable how big they grew in one week’s time. At the Park when I walk daily there were three families on Saturday – my first sighting of them and all different sizes, so more pictures. Soon both your and my goslings will be looking like teenagers with their overgrown feet and boat-shaped bodies as they continue to grow.
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Amazing the places you find their nest at. 🙂
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Yes, this does not look like the comfiest place to sit for a month’s time does it Sandra? There was a goose on a nest in the same place last year – perhaps it is a great lookout spot for predators and no humans are walking near the boulders so it is deemed safe
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The yellow fluff balls are cute as can be. I’m glad you were able to keep an eye on them– and get the photos too. The joy of spring is really in the new beginnings.
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Yes, those fluff balls were so cute Ally, all running around with lots of energy. Saturday I saw three sets of goslings with their parents at the Park where I walk every day. They were in different stages of growth, all eating dandelions. The grass cutters arrived as I left and sheared all the dandelions off – zero goose families yesterday.
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I wondered about those missing shells (once the goslings showed up!), and thought perhaps the mother ate them in order to throw predators off their track. No use advertising that baby birds have just hatched! Sure enough, here in the comments you’ve explained that the mamas actually do eat the shells. Fascinating! God’s handiwork in nature never ceases to amaze me!
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My first goose nest with eggs Nancy and when I saw the nest gone, with just leaves scattered in the rocks, I worried, especially since we had bad weather right after I saw them. Isn’t that interesting? I agree with you about God’s handiwork – all things in nature are a marvel.
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Marvelous post! I enjoyed all the goose and pre-goose photos.
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Glad you liked it Anne and I love the idea of pre-goose photos. After I saw the unattended nest and the huge eggs, I knew there was a story in the making if I could track the family down. She and her brood were the only family there, though there will be others soon enough. On Saturday at Council Point Park, there were three new families making their debut in the same area of the Park. Lots of fun over the next month watching them grow.
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I look forward to seeing the geese through your eyes.
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I will have some fun documenting them Anne. 🙂
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Truly a fantastic Mother’s Day post a or any day post really but all the more special for this Hallmark holiday –
I was smiling big time to see your favorite shots of them and also to see they were okay – the way you led us through the post – I was worried a little too!
And because we saw the eggs and the down being added and then the nose work being done – y the time we got to the hatches beauties I felt Involved – and thanks for the way you did that (the quotes helped too)
We have a robin in the yard sitting on eggs and I marveled at how patient that bird is!
And when your momma duck here was up and about the day you garbed the egg Photos – do you think she knew they were close to hatching?
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Thanks for your nice comments Yvette and I am glad you were just as captivated by the mystery of the vanishing family as I was and getting to see the hatched chicks. I was worried, thinking predators … human, more likely land or even air predators had snatched the babies and how could I tell that Mama Goose from any other goose at Coan Lake? Seeing the eggs in the nest was really special for me. Standing there she reminded me of the photos you see of profiles of women in their last stage of pregnancy … looking down, a little wistful perhaps. She definitely could have been hearing a crack in the eggs! One ready to hatch. A fellow blogger is a macro photographer and he took a photo of two newly hatched robins and an egg with pip marks (from the chick trying to get out). I sent it to our mutual blogging buddy Evelyn to show her kids … I’ll send it in a separate comment to … really amazing.
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Thanks for sending me the link!
And Spring is in the air with all of this hatchling talk!
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You’re welcome Yvette – it was an amazing photo of nature at its finest.
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😊💛
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This is really something Yvette – Robin hatchlings and the egg next to it there is “pipping” when the baby pushes with its beak and hatching begins:
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⭐️😊⭐️
Fantastic indeed
Thanks Linda
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Glad you liked it Yvette. We need a little sorbet for the soul right now, tucked in between all the bad news headlines. New life is such a balm.
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😊⭐️⭐️⭐️
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This is too adorable!!! All the geese I have encountered, I have never seen a nest with eggs. Thank you for sharing this Linda, I loved it!
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Glad you enjoyed this post Diane. I was excited to see the nest with eggs which was also a first for me. During incubation Mama Goose rarely leaves the nest, so this sure was a case of me being in the right place at the right time. I was amazed at the size of the eggs.
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Wow! How wonderful to see the eggs and how momma’s care turned them into little fluffballs. Great pictures!
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Thanks Janis! In my many years of walking at local parks and encounters with geese, seeing the goose nest and eggs was a first. Talk about being at the right place at the right time. Those little fluffballs are darling. At the park where I walk during the week, there are three families of geese and 19 goslings, all different sizes – so cute!
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What a delightful post. I love the photo of the eggs in the feather-lined nest. This spring is turning into a good bird season for you, isn’t it?
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Thank you Ruth! You are right – a good bird season for getting photos. Plus, on Mother’s Day weekend and this morning, I got some shots of the three Canada Geese families at Council Point Park. They only made their debut last weekend. The goslings are different ages and this morning they were getting “swimming lessons” – so cute. As to the eggs in the feather-lined nest in this post, what a treat to see that, something I’ve never seen before and since the Mama goose rarely leaves the nest while incubating the eggs, I likely will never see again.
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Those second shots of the nest and eggs made me think that perhaps those big rocks surrounding them created a nice break from the wind, maybe even a decent hide from predators. It is wonderful how she is so comfortable around you to let you come slowly closet to take those photos. I’m glad you were able to see them again once hatched. Lovely little goslings! Thank you for sharing!
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You’re welcome Zazzy and I’m glad you liked the post. I’ll bet this is the same Mama Goose that nested in the boulders last Spring and it worked out well so she did it again. I have to tell you I was ecstatic to see her off the nest and that I got the chance to view the eggs that close. I was worried when everyone was gone when I visited on Earth Day and relieved to find the family intact a few days later. Now I’m following three geese families at Council Point Park where I walk daily – 19 goslings altogether. They were having “swimming lessons” today. 🙂
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Reading this post brings me such joy! I’m so happy you got to see all the phases and you captured them for us to enjoy too – you’re like their official Aunt Linda, capturing their childhoods! 😍
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Glad it gave you a smile Shelley. I felt very lucky to have been there Easter Sunday for that brief time she stepped away from her post. I got fairly close to the nest and she didn’t seem fazed by my presence. I had a fun time documenting their first few weeks … I like the idea of being Aunt Linda to these cutie pies!
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😍😁🥰😍
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