Standing out

The geese are remaining on the marsh longer in the day now. I have only seen one of the white geese with the large flock these last few days. Doing some research on the presence of white geese with Canadas, and given the large size of the bird, I'm inclined to believe that it is a cross between a domestic goose and a Canada goose. Snow geese are generally smaller birds than the Canadas. This shot was taken on Tuesday of this week.

Tasty treats

On Friday I spotted the Canada geese in a different spot than usual, near one of the wood duck nesting boxes. They were busily foraging in the tall grass. The marsh grasses are flowering now, and the geese seem to find the flower clusters especially tasty. Here's one of the adults reaching for a clump (I applied a poster edges filter to the shot).

Look ma, no hands

I came upon Father Gander again this morning, feeding away at the edge of the marsh. I watched him for several minutes. He didn't pay me any attention at all, he was so intent on eating. These shots are a consecutive series: top, with his head underwater, digging up something from the bottom, probably new plant shoots; center, when he lifted his head; bottom, with head extended. You can see the oozy plant material in his beak. Doesn't he look comical?

Artistic licence

Not a lot of photo-ops this morning at the marsh. Nothing new to report, other than I did hear three spring peepers two days ago. I'm still waiting to see my first female red-winged blackbird, and my first painted turtle - someone said they'd seen one just recently. The shot here is of Father Gander - the mate of the goose nesting on the round island. He had swum over to see me as I came by as he often does, but then some of the other geese started to honk, and he turned to investigate. I tried the poster edges filter on the shot, and really liked how it came out.

A meeting of old friends

Yesterday on my walk I came upon a flock of Common Redpolls feeding on the ground under the gray birch trees. I moved into the trees to try to get a better view but instead scared them off. When I emerged from the trees, what should greet my eyes but the pair of Canada geese from Wednesday's posting, almost right in front of me. (I was pretty sure they were the same ones, as over the years this pair has gotten used to me being near them.) The goose was busy feeding; she has to build up her reserves before nesting.

Much ado about starting anew

What a difference a day makes. This morning large sections of the marsh were free of ice, and ducks were much in evidence, Buffleheads in the water and Black Ducks loafing on the islands. As I neared the first corner, I heard the sounds of geese, and sure enough, two flew in from the river and landed at the upper end. They were certainly making their presence known (especially the gander), and were answered by another pair on one of the long points of land. With much noise and to-do, the newly arrived pair proceeded to swim toward the round island where a pair has nested for several years now, so I assume it was the original pair.

Canada geese are among the first birds of the year to nest, so once again the cycle begins...

Three's a crowd

The ice on the marsh was making eerie noises this morning as the warm of the sun struck the surface. Another couple of warm days and most of the ice will be gone. I wasn't seeing much of anything wildlife-wise, so thought I'd check out the sewage lagoon. As I reached the top of the rise I heard a Canada goose honking, and sure enough, there were three of them on the ground opposite.

Lonesome goose

This lone Canada Goose feeding in the duckweed this morning was a rather plaintive sight, I felt (we're used to seeing them in pairs or a group), so I used a bit of artistic licence and the poster edges filter to create a 'photo painting'.

Pairing up?

I came across a pair of Canada geese feeding in the duckweed this morning, as evidenced by the duckweed clinging to the beak of this one.

Return of the geese

I was on my way out of the marsh late this afternoon when I heard the sound of geese honking, and it wasn't long before I saw 16 of them in "V" formation, flying from the river into the marsh. I hurried back to the viewing stand to get a shot of them out on the water, as it had been several weeks since I had seen them.

I just read in our local paper, with some trepidation, that this year the season for goose hunting has been expanded; in addition to the usual season, from Oct 1st to Dec 31st in our zone, the period from Sept 7th to the 17th has been added. However, geese can only be hunted on farmland. I know that in some areas the Canada geese population has become a problem, requiring measures to reduce their numbers. It's just hard for me to accept that birds I have watched grow up may end up in someone's oven!

Eye-to-eye with a Canada Gander

The Canada Geese sometime create a bit of a barrier to marsh visitors when encountered on the path. The males try to intimidate would-be passers-by with their insistent hissing. Luckily they have pretty well accepted me since they see me almost daily, some for several years, so I seldom have a problem getting up close.