A Goose That Couldn't Swim

Yesterday they came and took him away.   His was the last egg to hatch and therefore he was the smallest of the 4 little goslings.

At first all seemed well, safe and comfortable within their little nest, mama goose hovering above them and papa goose not far away. But soon we noticed that the littlest one seemed ... well different than it's siblings. While the others grazed happily, the littlest squatted in one place and nibbled at the grass seeds closest to him, always trying to keep his long, gosling neck tucked close to his small, fluffy body.

My husband and I soon realized the tiny runt had a problem -- our neighbors realized this too. We watched as the baby geese grew and the 3 older goslings soon sprouted tail feathers, followed by wing feathers and then the characteristic facial markings so familiar to Canadian Geese. Tiny Runt remained much smaller and still covered in it's fluff - not a sign of a tail feather in sight. Then one day I noticed he had great difficulty standing up. He had been resting, in his typical squatting position, on a slope of our neighbor's front yard.  As he stood, he wobbled, lost his balance and almost tumbled down the slope. Later, my husband told me he had witnessed the tiny gosling as it came close to drowning. It had been alone in our neighbors pond and suddenly became distressed and unable to stay afloat . . . a very strange thing for a water-bird. Suddenly, trying to help him, the Little Runt's parents and all his siblings were at his side. Miraculously they managed to get the wee one to shore. Needless to say he no longer held any desire to paddle about or enjoy the freedom of floating in the cool water of their pond.  My heart ached for the little fellow. 

Yesterday our neighbors called wildlife management and they sent someone out to check on the small gosling. The prognosis was the baby had a piece of his neck missing and it's thought that perhaps a hawk may have attacked the little fellow. Carefully the fluffy invalid was transported from his familiar pond to a wildlife veterinarian, we were all assured that they would do everything they could to help the little gosling and, hopefully, return him to his family. In the meantime momma goose has been distraught and seems to be constantly looking for her smallest baby. We pray he will be saved and returned before the summer is over.

Staying South for the Summer

We have some new neighbors next door to us, a couple of snowbirds who've decided to stay south for the summer. Perhaps they don't mind the Florida heat and humidity ?

This pair of Canadian Geese have taken up residence in our neighbor's pond. It's not a very large pond but these lovely birds don't seem to mind.

To them it's Home Sweet Home, or at least during the daylight hours, at dusk they seem to disappear and I'm not sure where they nest at night. However they are very protective of their "home" and this "outsider" has not been allow to come into the pond. Perhaps with time it will be welcomed but until then it can only watch from the banks of the pond.

A few days ago a flock of these large water birds flew over, there were about 6 of them in all. The flock honked and made quite a racket as, on several occasions, they attempted to land. However the residing Geese couple would not hear of it, they protested loudly and told the flock, in no uncertain terms, to "Get Lost!" I'm sure they realized that their little pond could only accommodate a limited number of water birds and they weren't and aren't willing to share their domain.

Photo below... a pair of duck paddle around the circular pond and are quickly confronted by the possessive Geese.

Hey ! Who invited you ?

No!  This is OUR pond, you two will just have to leave.  Here allow us to escort you to the exit.

Of course the water level in this little pond is starting to drop as we've not had much precipitation in a few weeks. Hope we get some good rains this summer or these two very possessive geese will be waddling in a mud hole rather than wading in a pond.

Spread Your Wings And ... Dry

December is approaching faster than a jet airliner that's just inches from touching the tarmac. 
To say I've been distracted would be putting it mildly and I'm sure I'm not totally alone in feeling this way.  So today I'll keep it short with few words and two photos that I've taken of a local  bird called an Anhinga.  The Anhinga is an excellent fisher-bird but lacks the oil glands to keep its feathers dry therefore it needs to spread its wings after each dip to allow them to dry.

How are your preparations going for this wonderful, though at times frazzling, time of year ?  Have your shopping list all checked off?  Cards ready to be mailed?  Baking all done?  Tree up and house decorated? As for myself, all I can say is; "How I wish!" :)