They were coming right at me, a passel of goslings, with their parents bringing up the rear! Yikes! I had no time to hide, or even duck into my car to escape them.
Well, truth be told, there were no worries for me; those feathered babies, of course, were not menacing in the least. In fact, I was at this park looking for goslings – um, I just didn’t expect to find so many of them at one time. 🙂
The month of May in Michigan means goslings galore!
In May, in most of the parks I frequent, if you need a “gosling fix” there are plenty of places to find these cutie pies. It’s been my experience that the first big gosling hatch happens just before Mother’s Day. So, I make my annual rounds to my favorite spots where I can see the tiniest goslings, those lemon-colored fuzzballs toddling around after their parents on over-sized feet, or laying down, those big feet stretched behind them, while demolishing dandelions and grass with great gusto.
Then, within a couple of weeks, these sweet goslings will lose their baby features, replacing round bodies with boat-shaped physiques, as well as sporting lots of attitude. I am always amused to watch these teenaged goslings mimicking Dad, hissing with their tiny tongues and flapping their mini-wings.
My favorite venue to look for goslings is Elizabeth Park where there must be hundreds of geese roaming around this 162-acre (65-hectares) venue. I visited here in mid-May, on the lookout for photo ops and found myself gobsmacked to find zero goslings. But, when I returned to this venue a mere two weeks later, on May 27th, there were goslings galore, which begged the question “where were they just a few weeks before?” These certainly weren’t newly hatched goslings!
But wait – let’s get back to “Gosling-palooza!”
I stepped out of my car, swiveling my head for a quick look to see if there were goslings near the main footbridge or in the canal – nope, not a gosling to be found. For a quick moment, I wondered what happened to them? Should I worry?
Well, I needn’t have worried, as mere moments later, I had to stifle a giggle, when a gaggle of goslings ganged up on this hapless photographer. Mom and Dad and their brood were having a wee outing just as I happened along. Woo hoo, what a photo op for me! Dad saw me and visibly bristled – his feathers ruffled a tad by my very presence and he continued to give me not only the evil eye, the side eye and even a hissing session complete with wing-flapping, all typical gander histrionics when protecting offspring from a perceived threat.
But, little ol’ me was NOT a threat and I held my ground, admittedly backing up a few paces to give them ALL some space. Sure we can mingle, but I needed to stay mindful of Dad, because that’s what Dads do, right? They are protectors when you’re young and even when you’re grown up.
So there I was, in the midst of these 28 goslings and only two adults. Hmm, what is the ratio of parents to offspring anyway? Surely they were babysitting, er … goslingsitting, as their friends had a date morning, or something similar?
But, as I happily repeatedly clicked the shutter button, I could see more geese families on the horizon, waddling along Elizabeth Drive toward me.
They whizzed past me, not even stopping to say “good morning” as they headed for their favorite grazing places. Look at the various sizes, some goslings well on the way to becoming “Mini-Me” versions of their parents.
It doesn’t take the goslings long to double, triple – even quadruple their size. After all, just like Mom and/or Dad, all they do is eat! A gosling typically reaches full size and has the ability to fly within 70 days of hatching.
Elizabeth Park isn’t huge, but there is something for everybody, with a woodsy trail if you’re so inclined, strolling the 1,300 foot (396 m) boardwalk along the Detroit River, or walking on Elizabeth Drive, the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) paved road that encircles Elizabeth Park. You won’t be alone as there are always walkers … AND vehicles. This is the ONLY way to enter and exit the park, a one-way street, which, if you need to be somewhere soon, don’t wait until the last moment to leave the park because the geese have only one speed – SLOW. On a whim, sometimes the geese stand in the middle of the road while pondering “so, do we want to graze or swim right now?” Or perhaps “is the grass really greener on that side of the road?” The speed limit is low, 15 mph, so you can watch for geese crossing, well okay – humans too.
As I gazed at them through the camera lens, it got me wondering whether their parents can even tell their own offspring from offspring belonging to other geese families? Can the proud dads even distinguish one gosling from the other? Well I’ll leave that query for the bird experts to answer.
What I’ll leave YOU with, is a selection of the morning’s favorite gosling shots, offspring that any gander would be proud of. I’m sure you would agree.
Terri’s Sunday Stills Photo Challenge today is “Paths and Trails” which celebrates June as National Great Outdoors Month. But it is also Father’s Day, so I’ve got the best of both worlds here with this gosling who says:
“Some day I’ll grow into these feet ‘cuz Dad’s got big shoes, er … webbed feet to fill, but, in the meantime, …
… I’ll just follow in Dad’s footsteps every step of the way.”
To all the Dads and Granddads out there, Happy Father’s Day!
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
What a fabulous encounter Linda. Great phtos
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Yes, it was – goslings everywhere. 🙂 Thank you Brian!
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That is a lot of goslings! They are adorable, I want to snatch one up! Wonderful pictures Linda! Their feet look so huge and their wings so small.
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I have never seen so many gosling families at one time Diane. There were two other large groups down the slope, but I didn’t go down there since these were so close to me. There can be too much of a good thing. 🙂 Thank you – I’m glad you like the photos. Their feet and wings are so out of proportion aren’t they? They are still kind of fuzzy-looking here, but all that yellow disappeared quickly leaving them looking like grownups.
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They sure do grow up so fast!
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Yes, they are in the awkward teenage years now. 🙂
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Once again, being at the right place at the right time proves that one doesn’t need to be a well armed pro to get some great shots!
You must have been beside yourself Linda!
Well done!
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Thank you Wayne! I felt lucky I saw all of these families after being there before and seeing no goslings – where were they hiding the first time? I walked the entire perimeter that first time and you can see everything as the road is high up. I was in the right place at the right time for sure. The first wave of goslings (from the top picture) were the bravest as they seemed to come right toward me, like they were charging at me! But then they veered over to the grass. The other groups weren’t quite as brave. I now wonder if their parents gave them a warning honk, like “back off – she could be dangerous!” 🙂
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they all saw you and ran to hide! They were playing those gosling games again I bet!
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Yes I must have scared them since I was wearing my sunhat and they all ran down the grassy slope. It is a steep slope that leads to a lower level of the park, away from the street and pesky photographers. Did I ever tell you about the time I bought a Chullo-style hat at the store at the end of Winter, so it was a deal. I wore it to the Park in the Fall 2024, only once, becaused all the squirrels were scared of it. It fit close to my head and had a massive pom pom on top. Scaredy-cats!
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at that age they are scared of their own shadows. But more so anything that moves.
If you had been sitting still, I bet they’d come way closer.
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Yes, that’s true – it always fascinates me how animals stare at you though. I have a post this Wednesday of a deer that peeked at me through the bushes. I was fascinated, but it kept right on munching leaves and couldn’t have cared less. Then IT got bored with ME (the feeling was not reciprocal believe me) and left to amble down the road. It was funny really. They probably see people taking their photo all the time. Usually they bolt, but I must have seemed like a friendly face and I did have the sunhat on … it was a laid-back doe.
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those feathered babies at this park looking for goslings. Wonderful families togather on the road. Wonderful all photography.
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Thank you Raj – it was quite a sight to see so many goslings at one time. I’m glad you liked the photos.
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Most welcome ,Linda! Beautiful you photoshoot. You everyday visit the park by walk. Where you live? 🤔
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Thank you Raj.
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Most welcome , Linda!
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Oh my goodness, that was a lot of goslings! 🙂 I love your “lemon-colored fuzzballs” description. That’s a perfect shot of father goose’s evil eye. What an amazing set of gosling pictures you captured for this photo shoot. (They were just the right age for adorableness!) I enjoyed scrolling through them more than once. 🙂
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Thank you Barbara – I’m glad you liked the descriptions and the photos. 🙂 What a surprise it was to see so many families and unbelievably, there were even more families on the lower level of the park down the slope, but I had enough photo ops up top so I didn’t go down there. The father did look mean as he gave me the evil eye. I’m sure if I went one step closer to the group, I would have been in dangerous territory. It is amazing to me how many different looks these goslings have from hatching to how they looked in these pictures, some even with tail feathers. This was a fun post to put together, so I am glad you enjoyed it.
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Thanks for the Father’s Day wishes! I think you must have stumbled on a morning outing of Gosling Scouts. Maybe they were trying to help you cross the street. 🙂
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You’re welcome JP – I hope you are having a good Father’s Day today. That very well could be they were Gosling Scouts helping me navigate the street. I should have taken them up on their offer. 🙂
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I’ve never thought about your question: Can the proud dads even distinguish one gosling from the other? No answer but the goslings all look the same to me.
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They all look the same to me too Ally – of course the same question could be asked for a litter of kittens or puppies as they all look the same, unless there is a runt.
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It’s a Goose-a-thon! Are all 31 goslings from the same parents?! Perhaps the parents adopted or fostering some of their family. 🐥🐣🐥
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TD, there are a lot of goslings here, in multiple groups, but most geese only lay between two to ten eggs with an average hatch of five to seven eggs, so I think the other parents left their goslings for safekeeping while they wandered off to eat or drink. They also have “gang broods” where multiple families are merged together while the goslings are young.
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That is a lot of babies 🙂
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Yes! There were goslings everywhere Sandra – I’ve never seen that many at one time and there were more on the lower level of the park as well!
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That is a lot of goslings! Looks like a day care center!
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It was incredible to see Kate. There were more goslings on a lower level of the park as well. I like that “day care center” and wish I would have thought of that!
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What a menagerie! 😃 Awesome pics of all the goslings and their caregivers. 👌
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There were goslings everywhere Debbie, as far as the eye could see, with more on the lower level of the park, down the grassy slope. Thank you – I am glad you liked all the goslings and their caregivers! 🙂
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the goslings are always stopping traffic where I live, Linda.😂
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I believe it Pam, especially during gosling time. You have to have a lot of patience if you visit here because they are always all over the place, giving people lots of stops and starts along Elizabeth Drive.
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Yep, it’s the same here, and I am so happy that people patiently wait for them to walk on by.
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I am happy people patiently wait for them to cross Pam because you know how people are often running late and would try to go around them. That being said, geese DO like to ponder about life in the middle of the road. 🙂
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😂
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This must have been a bumper year for goslings! All of the goslings in the first picture can’t be from one set of parents, can they?
Such an abundance of cuteness.
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That’s for sure Laurie – they were everywhere I looked, even on a lower level of the park. No, multiple families as most geese have five to seven goslings, but they have what’s called “gang broods” where multiple parents raise the goslings jointly. I’ve never seen so many goslings on one visit though. Yes, they are very cute and already sporting a bit of attitude if you look right at them. They learn quickly from their parents! 🙂
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Miss Linda………………………………………………….I was amazed to see SO may goslings with only one set of parents……………………………hmmmmm……………………..that was a clever way of honoring today as Father’s Day!!
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Thank you Ann Marie – I have read that sometimes the goslings are “raised” altogether as a group by adults other than their parents – they call this “gang broods” so on this morning, several of the groups only had one set of adults with them … pretty amazing to see! I’m glad you liked how I honored Father’s Day!
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Oh, did I chuckle while reading this post, Linda! Geese histrionics…so true. Hissing, lunging, flapping and side-eyed stink eyes, I’ve experienced them firsthand back in Sacramento on my lunch hour runs near a lake.
What a gosling bonanza at Elizabeth Park and they really did grow fast! That must be a fun trail in which to see them all. I love the last shots of the teenage goslings wadling on those huge feet. “The better to swim away from you, dear…”
Enjoy them while you can. I’m guessing by mid June their grown ups now.
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I could have used several walks for this Challenge Terri, but I couldn’t resist using this crowd of goslings to make a fun Father’s Day post. I have never seen so many goslings at one time. They are generally scattered in groups around this park, but not congregating in one place.
I am amazed at how quickly they go from fluffball to teenager. Those oversized feet crack me up every time I see them – this gosling’s feet looked larger than normal. They’re pretty big already. Yes, the geese get quite an attitude if you near them, especially when they have their goslings with them. Now, I am on the hunt for ducklings!
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They’re all adorable…but that’s SOOOOO many! Once upon a time, a couple decades ago we had company up from Illinois and we took them down to Belle Isle in the Detroit River. It was this time of year. I knew we had geese families here at the pond, but we weren’t seeing any geese families there. There were plenty of adult geese, all over as we drove around on the outer drive. But then we went inland a bit, and there was a contained pond/lake that was protected from the wind and in it were hundreds of baby geese and about 5 or 6 adults, I guess the nanny birds. It was as if there was a day care for baby geese!
Here at home this year we have 3 families…they spend their days over on a slightly bigger lake and then in the late afternoon evening they WALK from that lake over to the pond across the street. It’s a goose parade. If they happen to run into anyone (like me taking the dog out to pee) they all run the other way really fast…then they wait and start toward the pond again once the ‘danger’ is gone. It’s really hysterical. In the morning they walk back over to the lake, across 3 lawns, each an acre or so wide. It’s quite a long walk…but they all do it together in one giant herd of geese. They do this every day until the geese all look like adults and then I guess they disburse. Or something.
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I’ll bet your company was impressed to see that many geese in one spot, like a day care for baby geese setting. I know I would be. I could not get over how many goslings were there that day with so few parents and I believe it is called a gang brood with just a few parents being nannies to a big group of goslings. I wonder where the original parents go? Maybe they are glad to get away from the kids!
That is funny what is going on where you live. I see it at the big parks where they all walk together, like at Elizabeth Park where they just monopolize the road and take their sweet time. Unlike your geese gangs, these geese don’t seem to be afraid as they see cars and people walking, even walking their dogs, all the time, so they just march across and block traffic with no regard for us humans!
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That’s a lot of goslings! You can see why the parks become overpopulated so often. I don’t notice them so much here, but I can’t say I’m looking that much, unless they are crossing the road!
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It’s pretty amazing to see Joni! There are always geese families in the Spring, but more spread out around the park, not just in one spot like here. They were everywhere, but well behaved. 🙂 You never go to Elizabeth Park if you are in a hurry, like on your lunch hour, as you never know how many of them will be crossing the road at the same time, especially this time of year! Today I went in search of ducklings, but only found three. After this week’s stormy and rainy weather and then 90 degrees/100 degree heat index next Sunday/Monday, I won’t get up there for a while.
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So many goslings!
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It’s amazing to see so many Linda. They have lots of geese families there in the Spring, but I’ve never seen that many at the same time!
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Linda, you really did a great job making this post a Father’s Day related one while also letting us feel that nature smile your posts give to anyone who visits – and some of those closing photos were my favs – with the fur – action shots and cuteness. Just wonderful.
I looked up the question you asked and found this: “The ability of parent geese to distinguish their offspring is not fully understood, but research suggests that they rely on various cues such as movement, scent, and sound and because goslings imprint on their parents during the first 13 to 16 hours of life, and often remain with them for a year or more, this could mean that they recognize offspring through familiar movement, scent, and sound” hmmmm
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Thank you Yvette – I am glad you liked the post and I could not resist adding that gosling with the big, wide feet to the end with my Father’s Day greeting. The words and that gosling fit perfectly at the end portion. 🙂
Thank you for telling me what you learned and I guess I really should have researched the question I asked as I just ASSUMED with that many goslings, they would be just like herding sheep to keep them together, but that makes sense that they imprint on their parents at such a young age. It is like people that find squirrel babies that fell out of the nest or their mother dies and raise them like any other pets as they imprint on the humans, never remembering their natural mother. Today I went in search of ducklings, but only found one duck with three tiny ducklings, not the crowd like I found in this post.
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well it sounds like a much quieter walk with the one duck and three ducklings….;0)
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It was – I decided to sort through my photos today to see how I did as they were so tiny and looked a little lost in the big pond. 🙂
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🙂🙂
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Have you ever seen the movie “Fly Away Home”?
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Yes, I did Yvette, a while ago and I think it was Esther who told me about it. I enjoyed it. Thank you for the suggestion – I appreciate it.
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wonderful – and I was not sure if we all chatted about it or not –
hhhm
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I enjoyed it Yvette, but thank you for recommending it to me.
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🙂
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No wonder you put this annual event on your calendar! Wonderful photos (both the families and the individual close-ups.) I was immediately reminded of my daughter’s challenge in rounding up her own two (very active daughters). How two geese keep track of twenty-eight little ones is indeed the question. And maybe this isn’t a family but instead some form of “daycare”?
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It is fun to go and see them Dave and I’ve been going here to find goslings since the Spring of 2018 and I’ve never seen so many at one time. They are called “gang broods” which is almost like “day care for goslings” when other geese help take care of groups of goslings, not necessarily their own goslings. Another blogger researched and learned that yes, the parents can tell their offspring apart and can do so by scent and sound and because the goslings imprint on their parents, the first 13 – 16 hours of life.” That’s amazing, isn’t it? I thought of you today as I was at Heritage Park in search of ducklings which unfortunately I only saw three and they were very tiny. Mama wanted them to go up on the shoreline and use the turtle ramp to do so, but they, being kids, wanted to hang out in the water. She went up the ramp herself as they ignored her and chased each other around. 🙂
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The turtles should put up a sign saying, “TURTLES ONLY!” 🙂
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I agree with you Dave as I’m sure Heritage Park is catering to the turtles more than the ducks … all the ducks had to go climb up on the rocks at Coan Lake, the more difficult way to sunbathe.
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Holy moly, that’s a lot of goslings. They are so cute when they are little. Too bad they don’t stay fuzzy and charming. 🙂
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It was an amazing morning Janis – they do not usually congregate in that big of a group, as they are more spread out around the park. Yes sadly, the more adult-looking they are, the more adult-acting they become with all the drama that geese exhibit sometimes.
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I can honestly say that I’ve never seen that many goslings at one time. You were very wise to look at for the Dad. I love those gosling feet. 🙂
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I have not seen that many at one time either Rebecca. They are usually in groups around this park in the Springtime, but never like this! I didn’t know which ones to photograph first. 🙂 Dad decided it was easier to keep an eye on me, rather than the goslings since there were so many of them and only one human. I love the feet too – they look three sizes too big for its body!
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My, Linda, those goslings are so darn cute and sweet-looking! Seems so weird to see so many young ones without as many adults around. They all look healthy and i sure hope that they continue to do well. Geese sure are very social and intelligent creatures! They are all so precious!
Superb pics! 😊
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Thank you Tom! I’m glad you liked the pictures of these goslings which were almost too many to count. I thought it was odd to see so few parents with all the offspring, but a fellow blogger told me this is called a “gang brood” which would be like a day care for goslings. They raise them together and they all looked healthy and full of energy (and were pretty lively as they waddled down the road toward me and no I was not offering any treats – we are not allowed to feed the geese here). It is amazing to me how quickly they grow once they hatch. Yesterday I went looking for ducklings and only found one mom with three ducklings which were very cute and tiny. The nest was still there with the broken eggshells still in it. You can see the gander was watching me carefully, very protective of those youngsters (all 28 of them). 🙂
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They are very cute, I do like photographing the young ones. Canada Geese are everywhere, I have seen them in almost every country I have visited, they sure get around !
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Those goslings, even though they weren’t babies still were cute and they sure do get around! And they all look the same, except we have a variation of the Canada Goose called a Cackling Goose. I saw one once at this park and it was with Canada Geese and I thought it was standing on low ground. I follow the local Audubon Society and one of the members said “hey I saw a Cackling Goose at Elizabeth Park” and showed a photo, so it was probably the one I saw. They have a shorter neck and bill and are smaller.
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Oh wow, I have never heard of cackling geese. Thanks Linda for letting me know. I’ll be on the lookout now for one!
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Yes, see if you can find one Susan!
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Wow! You hit the jackpot of photo ops! And I thought we were being overrun by killdeer. LOL! By the way we saw our 4 baby killdeer take flight today. The next batch should be hatching within a week.
Interesting how the geese share parenting responsibilities.
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It sure was the jackpot of photo ops Ruth! I couldn’t believe my eyes as I came up to that bend and saw all the families, but especially the group coming right toward me. 🙂 Dad kept an eye on me the entire time I took pictures, so I didn’t want to linger too long. It is amazing that they share parenting responsibilities and even these older goslings, once they see the parents move on, they start following them right away. That’s great you got to see those babies take flight today. So by 4th of July, there will be new killdeer babies playing tag in the potato patches!
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By July 4th we might have two new broods hatch (8 babies if they all make it).
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Two broods – wow! That will make for more photo ops. Hopefully they make it. I need to get back to the Wildlife Refuge and see if there are new nests there. They have a lot of construction in the area, so I try to only go that way on Sundays when they don’t work. They are also building a car battery plant where they imploded the Trenton Power Plant and stacks last year so there is lots of activity with heavy machinery/trucks in the area.
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