Sad News and Moving Forward
On Thursday last, one of our little family of geese was killed by a careless or impatient driver. At First we weren't sure which member was gone, and thought it was the Poppa Goose. They stayed away from people after the loss, and it looked as though the lone sentinel was the Momma Goose, keeping a lonely vigil without her mate. Then, in another two days, "she" had a companion, standing watch by her side while the four babies ate.
On Sunday, we were able to get close enough for a more detailed look, and the Father Goose is still there, along with what we believe to be the Momma. Apparently, one of the babies was killed. They've all grown up so much that we were not quite sure and so waited until we could be more positive in our reporting..
But today, two days after our first close up, the entire family is gone. I'm not sure if they've left for good, or if the parents have taken the remaining four off for a few days of "flight training" in preparation for their upcoming long journey. I've never seen them fly, but the babies appear to be well feathered out and there has been a great deal of wing stretching and flapping going on when they were on the move.
I felt such sadness over the death of one of the babies, and it was obvious that the remaining family was suffering some confusion and trying to regroup and reorganize as well. I know that these things happen in their natural wild environment, but I found that I was very angry over the idea that this was a death that probably could have been avoided. Just today there was a story in the newspaper that a driver further north in our state had deliberately driven through a flock of wild ducks in a city park, and killed several of them. That driver will be serving 60 days in jail; I think it is a fitting fine.
I don't know if we'll see "our" geese again - somehow I hope they've found a safer place to live. I'll miss our daily visits if they've departed for good, but will try to convince myself they've found a happier, safer place to be.
On Sunday, we were able to get close enough for a more detailed look, and the Father Goose is still there, along with what we believe to be the Momma. Apparently, one of the babies was killed. They've all grown up so much that we were not quite sure and so waited until we could be more positive in our reporting..
But today, two days after our first close up, the entire family is gone. I'm not sure if they've left for good, or if the parents have taken the remaining four off for a few days of "flight training" in preparation for their upcoming long journey. I've never seen them fly, but the babies appear to be well feathered out and there has been a great deal of wing stretching and flapping going on when they were on the move.
I felt such sadness over the death of one of the babies, and it was obvious that the remaining family was suffering some confusion and trying to regroup and reorganize as well. I know that these things happen in their natural wild environment, but I found that I was very angry over the idea that this was a death that probably could have been avoided. Just today there was a story in the newspaper that a driver further north in our state had deliberately driven through a flock of wild ducks in a city park, and killed several of them. That driver will be serving 60 days in jail; I think it is a fitting fine.
I don't know if we'll see "our" geese again - somehow I hope they've found a safer place to live. I'll miss our daily visits if they've departed for good, but will try to convince myself they've found a happier, safer place to be.
posted by basicnorth at
2:41 PM
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