This is Part 2 of the Mother Goose story. As previously reported in Natural Encounters, a goose had nested at the tip of Eagle Point this spring. Geese are plentiful at Clark Lake, sometimes too plentiful. So, the focus of the story was how geese are different from other species, like ducks. When ducks mate, the male typically takes off and is on to the next conquest. The mother duck is the sole defender of her brood, and the mortality rate is high. You may see 15 one day, and two, the next. As our Mother Goose sat on the nest incubating the eggs, the male stood by defending her. If you approached the nest, you would got a stern warning. The Father Goose wasn’t going to give in without a fight.
Six newborns are now Clark Lake’s newest residents. This morning about 8:30 am, Lee and Shelley Wilbur were taking their dog, Calley, for a walk and came across the new family. Calley escaped from the leash and headed right for the male goose. He fiercely flared his wings and put on quite a show. Ten pound Calley had met her match. The Wilbur’s scooped up Calley and thus prevented an altercation that probably wouldn’t have ended well.
As Calley first headed toward the male, the mother and goslings plopped into the water. That’s where they were found about an hour later when this video was taken. The video recaps the male explaining that you shall come no farther as the mother was on the nest, and then shows the goslings getting to know their new home.
As the male, female, and goslings cruise the shorelines, it will be interesting to see if all offspring survive. And remember, if they pick your front lawn to hang out, they will leave behind fertilizer. Just don’t step in it.
