Another Goose Story..Such A Treat

Two days ago,  I had an incredible birding day.  After my initial sighting and watching of three squirrels (no, not birds) jumping from tree to tree, branch to branch to distance themselves from me and my dogs, it was all bird.

see that little blob at the top of the tree...eastern meadowlark

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The eastern meadowlarks seemed to prefer the tree tops this morning over their usual romps in the grassy pastures.  Blue birds rested on winter’s bare tree branches.  I caught sight of a kestrel in flight, then landing on a snag.  A red winged black bird belted song from his location up a walnut tree near the pond.  Gangs of Blue jays were boisterous in my yard.  A line of 10+ wild turkeys crossed my path in the woods as I returned home from a quick lunch out with Glenn.  Several sparrows blurted out a lovely melody from their perches in the tangled stems of the trumpet vine growing on the old corn crib. Chickadees, Nuthatches, Cardinals were also present. There were birds, birds everywhere.

this is that meadowlark...singing, no less

white-throated sparrow...a winter resident

I know you probably do not want to read about another goose story, but…but…

I cannot believe what had happened early in the morning down at the pond.  As I neared the pond, I could see the two resident Canada geese floating slowly, barely moving atop the still surface of the pond.  Suddenly, I heard a racket of honking which became louder and louder.  A group of Canada geese were flying overhead.  They were not in typical ‘v’ formation, but more like a circle. Uncanny.  I was hoping our geese would join the group, but they showed no interest.  I sat on the pond house deck to relish the peace.  Within minutes, I heard more geese honking and approaching.  A second group of Canada geese, this time in the more conventional  ‘v’, flew past in the same northerly direction as the first group.  Again, no interest from the two geese in the pond.  Then, …

I looked up and saw two geese flying directly toward the pond.  By the time they saw me, they had to commit, their landing gear, their huge black webbed feet, were down and ready to make the water landing.  As they landed, the now four geese got into a brawl.  Wings flapped, water churned, honking sounded harshly.  My dogs added their own vocals from their position at the water’s edge.  After a few skirmishes, the geese settled down and swam cautiously around each other.  After about five minutes, two geese, I am assuming the newcomers, made their departure and flew off in a southerly direction.

What a thrill!  I was so lucky to be at the pond at that exact moment.  What are the odds of experiencing such an event?  One in a million visits???

A great birding day indeed!