Just Ducky

.... and Geese-y, to be completely accurate.

I took a walk in The Park for the first time in a long time. I've been so busy with all the other ways I've gotten involved with animals that the place that started me in this direction -- The Park and all the animal regulars in it -- have fallen on the back burner. * hanging head* Isn't that just like life... I never want to take things for granted that are that special. So I got myself there, with bread and cracked corn in my pockets.

I've written often about the ones who I developed relationships with, Mr. and Mrs Goose probably getting top billing (had to say it). So the first two I looked for were them. They are the biggest and the loudest, so they are not hard to find, if they're not resting deep within the thicket on the island in the middle of The Lake. Thankfully I saw them right away, padding around in a rather soggy patch of forest, pecking at greens, which seem to be a daily part of their diet.

However, when I held out a little bread, it got their attention!


I included this second picture because it shows both of their faces in profile. It's worth clicking on the picture to open and see how beautiful they are. And she, who is the smaller of the two and in the lower right of the picture, has features that just look more feminine, even though their markings are almost identical. She looks like she has a more almond shaped eye, or up-swept eyeliner on....


And then there was Elvis.... the Muscoy duck. Once in a while I don't see him but overall he is a fixture, never straying from the edges of the reflection pool


And I also saw the third of my top three favorite buddies, the Indian Running duck. I don't have any name for him but as I've written here, he quacks me up with his adrenalized personality. He runs faster than any of the others over to me, and can't stand still be cause he is so revved up. He quacks at rapid speed and also stamps his little orange feet. So funny.


As a result, most of my pictures of him are blurred like the one below, because he's in such constant motion. And he's in the middle of talking to me. Fast talking, fast walking, very verbal... this duck could easily be a New Yorker (said fondly, as I consider myself to be one -- a New Yorker that is).

He looks like he's saying: WHERE WERE YOU??? DO YOU LIKE SQUIRRELS BETTER THAN US NOW????

The answer is, no.

I'm quite smitten with them all.

A Soggy Day with Geese

I am behind in posting things.... so this was from a few weeks ago. We had two solid days of torrential rain. I went to the park to see if I could find the lone, orphaned baby duck I had been feeding every day (with the hope it would get big enough to not be so appealing as a meal to every predator around). I didn't see it that day and feared the worst. I went it Wellies and tromped through all kinds of reeds and muck to look for it and had the fire ant and mosquito bites to prove it for about two weeks.

Discouraged, I was headed home and saw Mr and Mrs Goose searching for something in the flooded grass. I had cracked corn with me, which they will eat out of my hand, so I called to them. As they usually do, they trumpet rather loudly, and, led me Mr. Goose, the two came over. He gallantly assumed the position, threatening me with his beak in attack mode as they approached, while the Mrs. followed behind, confident that he was on the case. I have seen people run from this posturing, but I just stand there and talk to them in a bit of a sing song way. I know I am not there to harm them, and in fact, I am bringing them something natural and good to eat.



You would not believe how utterly soft they are. When they eat like this I get to feel their necks as they occasionally brush against me. They just don't make the words to describe how it feels.

I suppose it's obvious by now... These two are my absolute favorite birds and I pamper them when they let me. Something new I've noticed this year is that they both have kind of fleshy feathery knickers hanging down over their little legs, when they didn't before. I've seen Geese who have quite a bit of this waddle, but I assumed it was quite like our chins -- something that can sag as one gets on in years. Does anybody know about this?

Best of all, the next day I went back and saw that baby duck. Who knows where it was hiding when I was searching high and low. I fed it quite a bit and noticed it had doubled in size, and was getting in some real feathers, at least teen age ones, in place of fuzz.

Catching The Last Spring Rays

I might have seen Mr.Goose on his own on my last walk (click HERE to read), but a few days later I saw he and the Mrs. standing in the setting sun on the far side of the center island, doing their evening preening. All the ducks follow a rather comforting routine of getting close to where they'll settle for the night and beginning a grooming sequence. They usually are no longer interested in my bread or cracked corn, as nature's instincts rule.

(I wish my own instincts would be that way when I'm watching TV in the evening on the couch. I wish my nature would be to say, "oh no, I'm close to going to bed, I have NO INTEREST in Ice Cream at this hour!")



I got closer and tried to shoot them again, since in the above video I had maxed out my zoom and knew it'd be even smaller on blogger. And to my amusement, I saw they'd been joined by a turtle, warming himself in the sun. There's a healthy population of turtles in the Lake. They're cold blooded and regulate their temperature by absorbing sun. I like to think of their shells like solar panels that they can draw upon long after it's dark. Click HERE to learn more.




Amazing how the geese use their long necks to curl in such a dramatic way, and can smooth their downy feathers with not just their beaks but the back of their heads. At times when I see waterbirds poking at themselves with their beaks, it looks like they're perhaps pinching out mites or some other little bug that's gotten on them.

But in fact their big, outer feathers have zipper-like little connections called barnucles. The preening straightens out any of these that might have come undone and restores them to their fully waterproof nature. Underneath those are small whispy feathers called down, which of course is what's used in pillows and comforters. Together they provides insulation and bouyancy. I learned about that when I took an all day training for cleaning birds caught in oil spills at the Wildlife Rehab Center. Hoping to never have to use those skills....

Mr. Grizzled from RiverDaze, you may have something else to add on this grooming activity....

The Regal Mr. Goose

Though I have a bear of a sore throat and have been laying low, I had the worst case of cabin fever, and so took a short walk in the park. I brought bread along and saw Mr. Goose, who had eaten some bread and strode to a puddle, left by torrential rains all weekend, for a drink. I decided to try to balance my digital camera and take a quick movie, hoping to capture a little of what I see when I have the privilege of feeding this truly magnificent creature by hand. It just doesn't capture it, but it's still something to see none the less. I also got his unique high pitched honk, which often sounds more like a plainitive wail, on tape. I've tried to describe it before to no avail.

Sometimes I bring cracked corn, but when I bring wheat bread, I make sure to only feed him the soft insides. He doesn't like usually like crusts unless he's in the water and can soften them first, but this time he ate some. He often bites it off with the little Barbie hair comb-like ridges that act as teeth on the back sides of his beak. I think when I start the video you can see a bit of that bread stuck in one side.



I like to think Mr. Goose trusts me. You can see he is very sensitive and notices when other people walk near. That's good, it will keep him out of danger.

This was one of those rare times that I see him out on a bachelor stroll, without Mrs. Goose. I read that Chinese Geese like Mr. G make great watchdogs because they trumpet as any one comes near your property... the four at The Park certainly do. And they also make great lawnmowers, though I'd still bet that horses and cows might beat our the goose for that (but and argument could be made that the goose leaves a LOT less fertilizer than the other two!).

I wish you could get a real sense of just how BIG he is. And he let me touch him once for a millisecond. It was truly the softest thing I'd ever felt.

Below he decided to walk away and eat some greens, which is what he often does in-between bread sessions (it cracks me up that he still has a bit of bread stuck in the corner of his beak). I think he picks up some gravel too, and it all contributes to digestion. These geese are so interesting. They know what's right for their bodies and strictly adhere to that. If only we could all follow those same instincts.

(I could not help but try to close in on his majestic fluffy backside)

Love and Marriage

Mr and Mrs. Goose. Always together, these two teach me so much about partnership. They compromise well. When he wants to go, she follows. At times, it's she that walks or swims away and he's right behind her, no matter what.

Now, I've seen her ready to move on while he's still busy and it takes her awhile of talking to him and, let's face it, finally poking him with her beak to get him to see the wisdom of her way (amusing that I've never seen this in the reverse). But ultimately he honors and obeys. Once I saw him make her wait to the point that she gave up. After loudly squaking her discontent, she raised her proud, elegant head, got into the water and headed toward home, suddenly silent. He didn't let her get far.

Guess they never go to bed angry.

They're equal rights geese on the whole, as most of the time they're side by side in all endeavors. But Mr. Goose seems quite chivalrous too. While she often positions herself just a little behind him like this, I think it's the way he protects her, rather than that she's subserviently trailing behind. When they eat he gobbles what's offered as she fends for her own bites. But if other geese or ducks or their least favorite intruder, the nutria, are around, he stops to fight them off while she continues to eat. He respects her very much, and she is confident in her position with him. She doesn't take him for granted, but is certain what kind of behavior she expects from her man. That feminine strength is something I admire.

Like most males, he needs to take an occasional bachelor's stroll, his alone time to hang with the elements. She must be off where they make their home, resting or attending to things, since I've never seen them with goslings. And that's another thing -- whether or not they can have babies, which is why you'd think nature brought them together, they remain committed for life, choosing each other over the inherent drive to propagate.

They obviously haven't let themselves go. I think he's a hunk and she is so very pretty. While their markings are almost identical, she's smaller than him in just the right way, and has a smoother, more rounded head. Her eyes are more almond shaped and look like they're lined in a sweep of black, giving Angelina Jolie a fair run.

I'm not sure how they act if one or the other is ill, but when she disappeared for 6 weeks this summer, he was gone for most of that time. Maybe she was on a nest and he stayed close by, or if she flew off for some reason, he went with or after her. But since that wonderful day I first saw them both again, they've been there each time I've gone to visit, never far apart.

They are a pair, and in watching them, you can learn quite a bit about what that really takes. In marriage, life isn't lived soley on your terms anymore, and that can be quite an adjustment in this world of independent living.

Striving to be a little more like them might just make the swim a whole lot smoother.

If This Were Shakespeare, Methinks He'd Be The Court Jester

I mentioned here that when Nutrias swim up when I'm feeding the crew at the park, it upsets the apple cart entirely. While the geese are the biggest and the law seems to be that all the rest stand back til they're done, not so when Nutrias try to join in.  Maybe it's because they're oblivious to the pecking order. Here's Mr. Goose taking a stand. The Nurita remains nonplussed, too busy wiggling his whiskers to feel out where the bread is (lower right corner) to grok he's being challenged by the King of Everything.

The funniest thing is that these little fellas are either so dim-sighted or dimwitted (or both) that they're clueless to such advances and their complete non reaction stumps their opponent. As such, it totally deflates the situation; the geese simply give up and swim on their way, and the ducks fan out in their wake. It'd make Ghandi proud.

  

He's Safe!

Because tropical storm Edouard was headed toward Houston I went to the park so I could feed Elvis. I wasn't feeling so hot, but with a potential hurricane on it's way, and seeing Elvis standing alone on the gravel path from the telescope in our window, I went. I didn't even want to think about Mr. Goose but I couldn't help going to the edge of the water to at least look across to where he usually stands. Lo and behold, I saw a lone Chinese goose, floating in the lake.My heart leapt though my mind tried to keep my feelings in check. Could it be him??? My eyes darted around to find the orange beaked goose (Because the orange beak's partner and Mr. Goose look so much alike, and thosse two new ones are never far apart). Test #1 passed --  he was solo. Then I squinted way across to where I'd been Saturday and made out what appeared to be two geese. Thankfully they're easy to spot by size.  Then, as if the gods were patting me on the shoulder, at that very moment I heard the pair trumpet from that distance, and I knew I had Mr. Goose in front of me!

I only had grain left, but held it out and called, hoping he'd come... Sure enough he did, gliding slowly, raising his beak and trembling the way he always does.

Then he lowered his grand head and gobbled from my palm. Once he was that close I checked for his distinguishing marks -- a rim of yellow on his "eyelids" and a line of white where the ridge of his black knob meets his forehead. The new black beaked goose doesn't have those.
Oh Mr. Goose, Mr Goose! Isn't he glorious?

I try not to get too attached. Early on, as I'd see little ducklings disappear each day or happen upon a dying bird, I told myself that if I were going to be a part of this, I had to respect that nature takes it's course. But to have such direct interaction with an animal as compelling as this for the last 2 years IS in fact a relationship. And to suddenly find he and Mrs. Goose both gone without a trace, at a time of year that could not be explained by mating or migration, wasn't so easy to accept.

My heart just sang yesterday to see him at last.

Hope

Had a meeting at the zoo this morning. The entrance is very close to where the geese hang out, so I bolted and checked for signs of at least Mr. Goose. He's still missing. It was high noon and one of the hottest days this year... but there were the new two, with their legs in the water keeping cool. The black beaked one even went to sleep standing in full sun so I can't say it was too hot for Mr. G. I don't know if he's flown away, or if Mrs. Goose has babies and he's in the center of the island somewhere helping take care of them. I've read male geese have strong paternal instincts (she said with hope hope hope).

Knowing I was grasping at straws, I made the rounds to their usual places. I looked across to the front end of the center island, where I've occasionally seen all four nipping at greens on the shore. Deserted.


Then I tramped to where I often saw them enjoying the shade or where they swam back to after eating my bread. It's on the back end of the center island, a place I figure they call home.

See the darkish cove formed by that tree hanging low into the lake? That's where they usually are, if not on the shore in the picture at the top.

I knew I wouldn't see them, just like all the other times I've looked. Still, there's a pathway that goes back into that brush and in my minds eye I picture Mrs. Goose sitting on a nest in the thicket, nosing at her eggs while Mr. Goose regally stands guard beside her.

Mr Goose Update

Yesterday I decided to go out in the morning this time, hoping that the hour would make a difference in the missing Mrs. Goose's schedule. Though my prior visits were midday and afternoon, it wasn't much cooler at 9:30 AM. The sunlight was such that I could, for the first time, see through all the dense underbrush on one side of the center island.  I searched for signs of her even though I know their home is on the back, where the ground remained shrouded. No luck.

The alarming thing is that I didn't see Mr. Goose this time either!  Oh woe is me.  

I did see the other two, who honked their usual greeting and swam all the way across the lake to take a few pieces of bread from my hand. I ended up walking the distance over to where they usually hang out and didn't see either of them.

On the way home I attempted to comfort myself by thinking my timing has been bad, or that she's indeed sitting on a nest, though I've known them together for two plus years yet never seen them with goslings.  I wondered if they got fed up and flew off to one of the other bodies of water that I have seen waterfowl at... but why would she go first and he stay behind for a week? Did she die and after a few weeks then he decided to fly off? Or did something happen to him too now?

In reading more about them I learned they make good meals...  is it possible that someone actually nabbed these birds to cook up? There's an awfully large mix of cultures in Houston that might find that to be quite normal.

I stopped two uniformed park people in a golf cart driving by and asked if they knew of the geese (they did) and had noticed she was gone.  Had they heard she was found dead or sick? They had no news of such a thing. 

Guess I have to hold out hope that Mrs. Goose is sitting on a nest, or this heat is just too much for her, and at the unfortunate timing of my visit, Mr. Goose -- albeit for the first time --was deep in the center island where they made their home, keeping her company.   

I'm Worried

I have not seen Mrs. Goose the last four trips to the park. Granted, when I first saw Mr. Goose, and for several subsequent visits, he was a seeming bachelor. But one day I saw him with a very feminine, very pretty gander, who has not been far from his side ever since. They swim together, eat grass in the fields together, come up to me to get bread together. If she is done and he eats longer, she'll stand by for a bit but nags him and gives him little nips in his side til he heads wherever she wants to go. They are definitely mates. And Geese mate for life. Oh where has she gone?

It is July and very hot. At first I hoped that she was just cooling off in the shade of the trees on the center island. I also wondered if she might be sitting on a nest, though it seems doubtful that this would be the time of year for that. (I've read everything I can find on Chinese Geese but there are no straight answers about WHEN they mate, or IF they do under these conditions -- apparently they are only found in Asia, so I wonder how the heck not one but now four have been living at our pond).

The new pair of geese are usually in the vicinity of Mr. and Mrs. G, but he is usually making it clear that this is HIS property, and his lady and he get to eat from my hand before the other two. Now I see him hanging around them, and they eat first. I make a point to feed him first anyway, and well, asking him softly where Mrs. Goose has gone.

I will keep you updated, but for now, I'm praying she's OK.

Googling Geese

Last night I couldn't sleep so I sat up researching to see if I could identify what Mr. and Mrs. Goose (and the new pair) are and if the orange billed goose is different... I have also been wondering about their mating and parenting cycles. 

I've been involved with Mr. and Mrs. Goose for about 2 years now and they have never had a chick, as far as I've seen. I think they settle in at night on the small island in the middle of the lake so I've never been able to see if Mrs. G has ever laid an egg, even if it didn't hatch. When I first spotted Mr. G, he was alone all the time. He was so big and regal, I stopped dead in my tracks at the sight and ever after, sought him out in my walks.  I always found him standing around, the only one of his kind, usually in one of two grassy areas on the park shore. 

One day --the first day I brought bread and Husband realized the goose would eat from his hand -- he swam out to greet us with a lovely gander. I didn't know if this was a new mate and he was no longer a bachelor or if she'd been around all this time and I'd only caught him on his solo forays.   24 months and many interactions later, I've only seen them apart once, so I got to thinking that maybe she had been sitting on a nest back then. If that was so, I never saw any babies. You figure eventually they would get big enough to come out and swim, learn to eat and fly before they might head to parts unknown.  But there are few baby ducks who survive of the MANY that are born year round. I'm still trying to figure out who the predators are.  Maybe these big geese's babes are no less immune to whatever fate befalls the rest.

Looks like they're called Chinese Geese, due to many distinctions, the most prominent being the unusual knob they sport on their beaks.  (pls. excuse the piece of bread sticking out of his)

Still working on the orange billed bird.