Originally, I planned to entitle this post “Mayfly Mayhem” but I decided perhaps that was a poor choice and, besides, the mayhem would be momentary, only as to those creepy-looking, featherweight creatures called Mayflies and/or Fishflies.
Besides, it wasn’t like I didn’t know about the influx of Mayflies descending on the western shore of Lake Erie. Michigan Storm Chasers, one of many weather sites I follow, had posted about the Mayfly swarm on radar as to this area just days before.
So yes, it was inevitable I was bound to run into a few on this walk. Quite frankly I had forgotten about MSC’s post when I left that morning. It was sunny, bright, not too hot and I was just eager to get out of the house, give the car a good run, get a long walk under my belt and take some photos, so off I went.
But, having pulled into my parking space and exited the car door, a few Mayflies flitted away, having already glommed onto the side of the car, probably enamored by their reflection.
It’s difficult to get up-close photos of Mayflies when they land on you … zooming too much makes them blurry and, if they’re too close, you can’t detect those filmy wings with bodies that appear to be golden if the light hits them just right. I got this Mayfly photo a few years ago at Bishop Park. I was looking downward, the fanny pack and camera pouch in the background.
I had an agenda for the morning of June 19th. I thought a nice walk along Cove Point would be refreshing. Part of that stroll would take me along the rocky shoreline, then through a shady area, past the marina and ending up at the Osprey nest where I could gawk at the Osprey and their offspring and they could snarl back at me. Then a slow walk back to the car.
After battling and batting away a handful of Mayflies from the front of my shirt (and once again the fanny pack and camera pouch) …
… one alighted on my sleeve where I had turned up the cuff.
One nervy creature had the audacity to land right on the camera – eww! I plucked that Mayfly off, said “enough already” and then turned my attention to a row of Mute Swans that was far from the Lake Erie shoreline.
They were having a meetup of sorts, in a neat little row, some preening, some stationary. Hmm – must zoom in to get photos of them.
However, as I walked toward the shoreline, I saw so many Canada Geese, all different sizes/ages, that this greedily grabbed my attention. I put any swan pics on hold … after all, inevitably most images would be a white blur of birds since they were far away.
I ended up spending an hour wandering the Cove Point area, marveling at what had to be 60 to 75 geese. These are some of them; there were more beyond that rocky area that juts out into the water where you see the dead tree; those geese will be at the end of the post.
The trick would be to approach this group quietly to try and get shots of as many geese as possible. Sure, that might sound easy, BUT, if I raised the hackles of the “lookout goose” my own goose would be cooked as the expression goes as they’d all bolt at the same time.
Cautiously I approached the shoreline, taking baby steps, trying to limit my hand movements, pretty much deciding not to look down as Mayflies landed and clung to my clothing – eww.
Soon I realized there was still another challenge: the Canada Geese seemed to blend into the shoreline, those big boulders and trees that had fallen long ago, their bark stripped and trunks bleached and weathered. All the colors melded together and it was difficult to tell the geese from their dull-colored surroundings. As I zoomed in, I could see many grayish-colored goslings embedded in the boulders.
I craned my neck to see them all …
… knowing I wouldn’t have a leg to stand on once they saw me.
They were “chillaxing” …
… oblivious to humans. I was actually the only person there that morning and it was also unusual that there were no freighters or pleasure boats around, even on the horizon, to create a wake. Pure bliss for my geese friends.
That is, until the sentry goose that watches over the flock spotted me, the unwelcome intruder to their morning bliss.
That goose faced its brethren with a plan to “get outta Dodge – the paparazza has arrived!”
The instructions were given, the lead goose turned around and thus began a semi-orderly exodus, which I did my best to capture.
This fuzzy-looking gosling gazed at its siblings (above), reluctant to move along and give up a coveted sunning spot on a flat rock.
But, mom and dad must have said “get down here” as that gosling soon waddled down closer to shore, but obstinately it soon found another flat rock where it perched and preened.
Some of the geese began migrating over to the fallen, long-dead trees …
… while other geese still hugged the shoreline.
A few geese thought it might be great fun to mix and mingle with the swans …
… so how did that work out?
Well, not surprisingly, the swans were feeling fractious with the geese invading their personal space …
… so, why not take your frustrations out on another swan? Yikes!
By now the majority of geese from this area had dispersed and headed out too far to get good shots of them, so I meandered along Cove Point to the other rocky shoreline that jutted out, as mentioned above. I was hidden from their view so I was able to get some closeups, but they’re hardly distinguishable from the boulders.
The last two geese, just like the swans above, clearly needed an attitude adjustment. Well, don’t we all sometimes?!
I am joining Terri’s Sunday Stills Challenge: Animal of Bird of the Month and they’ll be another bird for Wordless Wednesday. I will also join Pepper’s #One step at a time hiking challenge.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
I wish different groups of humans could get along as much as flocks of birds!
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I sure agree with you Wayne. I wish I could have shown all the geese I saw that morning – there were just too many of them. And, until I happened upon the scene, they were peaceful, content and enjoying one another’s company. I almost hated to disrupt that peace by letting them see me.
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That’s a lot of geese! And I think I prefer mayflies to cicadas.
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Yes there were JP and many more that weren’t in the photos. I hated to disrupt them by getting closer as I knew they would bolt. I agree – mayflies are featherweights if they land on you and they don’t bite, but cicadas look like creatures from another planet.
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Love the pics. Nature has a way of fitting out critters for camouflage. I used to have a gray tabby cat with long fur. Quite distinctive. One day I couldn’t find her. She was sitting in front of a tree and her coloring blended in perfectly with the tree trunk. Not a fan of mayflies although I haven’t seen them in my area.
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Thank you Kate – these were the geese pics I mentioned to you awhile back. There were many more geese that I couldn’t get into my photos. They do seem to blend right into the boulders along the shore. I can deal with the mayflies, though I don’t care for them landing on my clothes and camera, so I flick them off. What I can’t deal with is the large centipede that ran down the hall when I turned on the light this morning and is still at large. 🙂 Your kitty knew just where to hide where she would look invisible, probably just like the centipede!
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This is a wonderfully fun post! Photos of mayflies and so many geese and swans. What could be better other than being right there to see it for myself? Well done, Linda.
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Thank you Pepper – I’m glad you enjoyed this post! I came home with many shots of mayflies that were blurry as they were too close to take a good picture. I’m not so fond of having bugs clinging to me as I’m walking along. It was fun watching the geese and I really needed to have a panorama shot as you can’t see many of the geese I saw with my eyes. I’m sure the swans didn’t appreciate the intrusion by the geese (or me) in their morning preening session! 🙂
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You did a wonderful job on these, Linda. 😊
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Thank you Pepper.
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I must admit Linda that I have never heard of Mayflies? They are interesting looking creatures, and look quite large? Do they bite like black flies? That is a lot of swans…..I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many together….and geese too!
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Joni, the Mayflies do look a little weird to be honest – their long body and they are very lightweight, so you don’t feel them landing on you. They are about an 1 1/2 inches long and mostly all wings. In fishfly season I’ve looked down at my clothes and have seen up to a dozen clinging to me and I had to flick them off. They don’t bite, just cling to you. The swans were beautiful – unfortunately too far away to see all of them and I wish I could have gotten more geese into the photos because there were way more geese than you see here, but, once they saw me, it was over as they started to get up and paddle away. So I not only made the geese mad, but the swans too!
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Wonderful photos.
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Thank you Monica – glad you liked them!
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Birds and insect definitely have a love-hate relationship with each other, right Linda? That radar shot of the mayfly swarm is remarkable! And ick! Great close-up of the mayfly, and once you showed that pic, I have seen these fellers before. Your post reminds me of a visit we took the Mono Lake near the Eastern entrance to Yosemite NP one summer. We watched a film showing how the Cal seagulls that nest at the lake get their flies. They literally run along the shore with their beaks wide open! Too funny. Don’t forget to link to my post 🙂
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Terri, once you see a mayfly, you won’t forget them, so I’m glad you remembered what they look like. They are kind of weird looking and that day they landed on the car, then me … I flicked them off, but still …. I decided to post that radar photo because that was right where I was that day. I went back in my feed and got their post photo for this post. When we have them in abundance in cities right along the water, there are so many of them, I’ve seen pictures of street sweepers having to come through and clear them off the street as people skid on the pavement since they are so slippery. That would be funny seeing the seagulls running along with their beaks to catch flies. They would have to eat a lot to feel full!
I will go right now and post on your site.
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You got some great photos of the Mayflies and I love your photos of the geese and swans mingling. The water is so blue.
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