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We now have a family of six visiting us every afternoon. The four goslings still sound like newborns and they basically have no fear of me or anyone with me. If we are standing within three feet of our back window they evidently can see you so they start marching toward the house. I only feed them moderate amounts of cracked corn and they sometimes return for more if they still see someone. I held my hand out and got an unintentional bite to a finger. LOL If any other geese approach where they are eating they are not welcomed by the gander nor his mate. The head is lowered and a charge is ensued to keep the pecking order intact.
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They are slowly returning. For the last week I have seen and heard groups of geese flying overhead from the west where they likely are sleeping. Today a group of six were on the ground near us. We believe them to be a family with goslings born this year that were often spotted near our home.
So T and I take an early morning walk today. Well, if 830 is early. We walk up on about two dozen geese so I do what I always do. Stop to observe. We spot two groups with young goslings though they almost have the size and coloration of a full grown goose. Most are in the water and swim toward us, get out of the water and walk toward us. This is a behavior I rarely witness and within about 15 ft they move away. Suddenly the older gosling family takes off flying. Well, actually they were running really fast with their wings moving. A very good observation today.
I think Teresa's favorite bird is the Great Blue Heron. She spotted this one in front of the Laurel Island Links Pro Shop.  I woke up this morning thinking it had been several weeks since I had heard or seen any geese. It is molting time for them meaning they can’t fly as the new replaces the old with those special flying feathers. Then all of a sudden, a couple of hours later, I hear and then see a group of four flying around testing out those new feathers.
We moved to Kingsland GA in April in the midst of the pandemic. I got a part time job at the golf course where we live. After 6 pm we can ride on the cart paths. We discovered a beautiful hole and two flocks in numbers we had never seen before.
A pair I have named Linus and Lucy continue to visit us most mornings and even some evenings. If I walk out the door they almost run to the back door even if they are in the middle of the golf course fairway. If there is a younger pair nearby they are run away from our door. It is interesting to observe them up close and personal. I can’t wait for my two youngest granddaughters to come for a visit.
In my morning walk today I came across a lone goose. He appeared to have a broken and out of place/joint leg. He hopped within 6 feet of me as I calmly talked to him then hopped in the other direction. I’m sure we will meet again.
It was late spring this year before I even saw the first goslings and those were in Kingsland as we were making our move to Laurel Landing. I finally saw some near the condo on Amelia Island too. Now that we’ve settled into our new home we have seen many including one group that were freshly hatched. Two geese visit us every morning. I’ve named them Linus and Lucy.
It’s very late in the year and our local geese are still spending time walking instead of flying. On Tuesday, I was rushing to visit a friend and had to wait as a full gaggle crossed the busy street one by one and occasionally two by two but twenty plus of them does take a few minutes.
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I'm a wanna be writer but until recently only dabbled with personal stories and illustrations. My true joy is my relationship with God and family. Then comes the Christian music and technology. I am retired and occasionally work part time but when not too occupied I'm writing a book that I call Goose Freedom. Archives
April 2024
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