The Moment After Triumph

Perhaps this story begins just after the mating was over. Success was obvious. The male Canada Goose spread his wings wide, as if celebrating the moment.

The male Canada Goose looked magnificent—strong, proud, and unmistakably happy.

Mating almost always happens on the water.

The female lowers her body slightly, and the male climbs onto her back while balancing with his wings.

This is post-copulation moment. 

The male Canada goose opened his beak and stretched neck calling loudly. After mating, males often give a strong series of honks.  He is announcing the successful mating and warning nearby geese to keep their distance.

Generally, life is good.

Sunset on the Bear River MBR - I.

The golden sunset glows,

Geese soar high on graceful wings,

The eagle rules on high.

haiku #4.

Generally, life is good.

Obedience

 

I always marveled at mother duck's ability to disciplined her brood but learned recently that ducklings fall in line not out of choice but instinct.

About 13 hours after they have pecked their way out of eggshells, goslings "tune in" to the world around them.  During the next few hours, they become fixated on the first large moving object.  In the wild this is usually their mother and goslings will follow her obediently.

Generally, life is good.

Goslings - I.

 

Last week I came across a family of Canada Geese and their seven goslings in our local Beau park. 

At first they all looked the same, but the longer I stayed with them, the more I saw how different they were.

Some of goslings were smaller and weaker.  Sometimes they lost their balance and fell, others were bigger and stronger.  

This gosling is taking a short rest.  Soon it will join its parents and siblings for a swim.

It's so nice and safe to be together.

I hope that all goslings will survive first year and become strong birds.  I wish them all good health and long life.

Life goes on.  

Mating Season is Around the Corner

 

In February I noticed that Canada Geese were starting to form pairs. The courtship of Canada Geese is quiet  peculiar, they stretch their necks high in the air, bobbing their heads, flap their wings and make honking sounds. 

You can see how the male Canada Goose is stretching his neck high in the air, he is very loudly showing his strength and agility to the female.

Eventually, the female began to respond to the courtship invitation.

Canada Geese usually stay together for life. If one member of the pair dies the other goose will mourn for a long period of time.  A young goose that mates during the first year and loses its mate may choose another mate within the same breeding season.

Life goes on.

Winged and Powerful

I love to photograph Canada Geese especially when they are flapping their wings.  It's in these unforgettable moments that I understand better than ever how powerful these birds are.

Once a year, usually when the weather warms up, Canada geese molt their feathers and cannot fly for six weeks.  During this time they will be very vulnerable to coyotes, foxes and raccoons. 

A single Canada Geese has about 20,000 feathers which are uniquely designed to help a goose to fly, shed water or display distinctive markings.

The top and bottom of the wings are of different colors, which allows them to camouflage themselves from predators.

Life goes on.

Ice Dancing. "Free" Program

Ice dancing took place this morning at Beau Pond.  Performers were two Canada Geese.  The spectators were the local ducks and me.  There were also two geese as referees.   

As a photographer,  I tried to capture the dance as best I could and almost succeeded.  

At the beginning of the "free" program, the performer on the right began the dance with slow, graceful movements.

This is an invitation to dance.

 

The invitation to dance was accepted.  

The first referee carefully observes the dynamic dancers.  

 

The dancers perform a "toe loop" just before charging forward at full speed.

 

Second referee in the final.  After a few seconds the dance will be over and performers will take a long break.

***

The idea for this fun ice dance came about after I looked at many photos of Canada geese taken this morning and thought why not create something funny.

Life goes on.

Canada Geese Are Defending Their Territory. The Finale

 

The Canada Geese alternated their aggressive behavior with the short pauses of truce. When it was happening I also was taking a pause walking one loop around our local pond. 

If from Great Blue Herons I have learned how to be patient, Canada Geese that day taught me a lesson about the importance of a pause, even a brief one.

Generally, life is good!

A Female Canada Goose and Her Goslings

 

So roughly how many goslings in this family will make into adulthood?  It's hard to say.  A female will guard her goslings and feed them.  A male will accompany his family and help a lot to raise the young ones.

It takes 50-70 days for goslings to attain flight status and during these days they will be very vulnerable to prey.

I wish this family that its goslings will stay healthy and enter into adulthood as powerful as their parents.

Generally, life is good!

Canada Geese Are Defending Their Territory

A few days ago I had an opportunity to photograph the aggressive behavior of Canada geese on our local pond.  They were chasing each other and even fighting. 

Canada geese have well defined and defended territories and extremely  defensive of them, their mates and nests during nesting season.

Thus, on the photo above a Canada Goose is trying to escape from an attacker. 

Sometimes chasing looked like a noisy marathon.

Generally, life is good!

A Mating Season - I. Canada Geese After Mating

These large geese are very impressive, especially during their mating rituals. They are monogamous and form extremely stable pair bonds for the rest of their lives, divorces are very rare.

The amorous pair on the photo above put on quiet a show after a mating took place.  The male was very enthusiastic celebrating that the female chose him. 

The male is very proud, he still continues to display how powerful he is.

It seemed that each bird celebrated their successful mating in its own way - the male with enthusiastic wing-flap while a female was preparing to bath.

Generally, life is good!

A Fight

 

It was hard to tell if it was a fight or if it was possible that one of geese was trying to mate.  I am more inclined to think that this was a fight over the territory as the nesting season is approaching and geese become very aggressive about their territory.

Generally, life is good!

 

Evening Mood

 

A Snow Goose on the evening swim.  Alone.  The light breeze has formed  interesting, abstract patterns in the water surrounding the Goose and its reflection.  Bear River is a true artist and often creates stunning abstract patterns.

Generally, life is good!     

Two Brave Travelers

Over the past several years I have dreamed of photographing at least one Snow Goose. Last Sunday my dream came true and I met two Snow Geese at Bear River MBR, the adult and juvenile.  

What brought this couple to Bear River MBR? Usually, Snow Geese don't like to travel without company of another couple of dozens geese.  I think that fresh accessible water and food brought this couple in the refuge.  

Snow Geese are drinking water. 

Geese use their bills to lift the water in the mouth and then toss their head back to run water down their throat. That is what exactly Snow geese are doing on the photo above.

Snow Geese breed in Arctic Tundra but they migrate to Northern Utah during winter and stay there until it's time to go back to their breeding grounds.  

Generally, life is good!

"Ah, This Goose..."

I photograph a lot of our local geese. It's kind of obsession which I can't explain or perhaps love at first sight which never fades.

Two years ago I took a photography class at our local university. At the beginning of semester my professor asked us to bring to the class photographs with motion. Not thinking for a long time I went to our local pond and took a photograph of a goose beating his wings.

Fight Over Territory

  


Fight over territory started with one group of geese charging toward another.
First group cut viciously into another group and everything turned into 
mess with strong splashes of water, sounds of flapping wings 
and then the first group left.  
Everything happened in seconds.

In the Beau Park

It's hot, hot, hot!  101.1 Fahrenheit! 
No more trips to Bear River in evenings. For a while.

Today I got to the Beau park in the early morning and
found there a few geese, ducks and one squirrel. 
Everything is so dry, so unappealing. 
I am waiting for autumn!

Beau park.