(Photos: 1-- Mama goose and Papa behind her. 2-- The family arriving. 3-- The family still together.)
Although Harlem Meer has recently become enriched with the stopover and gatherings of dozens of migratory geese, as well as the return of numerous resident Canada geese, the one familiar gaggle I hadn't seen in a long while was the Turtle Pond goose family.
Yesterday, I decided to scout some of the other watercourses of Central Park in a quest to find them.
The balmy 50 degree temperatures resulted in Central Park appearing as it does in the spring. It was surprising to see thousands of people in the park in late December. (Indeed, this has been one of the warmest Decembers in NYC history!)
Due to the unusually warm temperatures, none of Central Park's ponds or lakes are currently frozen.
Usually at this time of the year, most of the waterfowl would be congregating at the Reservoir as it would be one of the few watercourses to have open water.
But, few ducks and no geese are currently at the Reservoir. There is no need for them to leave their familiar ponds and lakes.
There were thus, plenty of ducks and shovelers at Turtle Pond and The Pond (Upper West Side) though I didn't see geese at either of these locations.
I then decided to walk to the Boat Lake -- the location where the Turtle Pond goose family molted over the summer and has been known to frequent since.
But, when first arriving to the Boat Lake, I did not see geese, but plenty of mallards and other ducks.
Then, walking around one of the rock formations where I typically used to see the Turtle Pond geese, sure enough, there were two geese swimming in the water near the edge of the rock!
Could it be? I wondered. Could this be Mama and Papa?
But, the geese appeared to be younger than Mama and Papa and my guess was that they were perhaps migratory visitors?
But, then walking over to the other side of the rock, I noticed that the two geese appeared to be following me as if in recognition!
Indeed, they walked onto to the rock in greeting!
But, neither goose had missing webbing on a foot (as Mama does) or walked with a limp (as does Papa goose).
Of course I had sunflower seeds and some cracked corn on me and offered some in my hand.
And both geese confidently ate from my hand with the "soft mouths" that were so familiar from the Turtle Pond goose family (and Buster at Harlem Meer).
I began to think that the two geese were the grown goslings from the Turtle Pond family.
But, where were the others? Where was Mama and Papa?
Then, a few minutes later, a third goose appeared. And like the other two, was extremely social, but with neither lameness or missing foot webbing.
The third gosling, now almost two years old, I wondered?
By this time, a small crowd had gathered around me and the very friendly geese.
"Look at that! They are eating from her hand!" several people remarked.
"Oh, yes, I know these geese," I said. "They are very friendly with and used to people. They actually were raised around here."
And then, almost as if on cue, Mama and Papa finally arrived!
I would recognize "Twinkle Toes" and her proud gander with the lame right foot anywhere.
How good was it to see them again?
As good as winning a lottery!:
Mama walked right up to me and requested some treat. Papa meanwhile, admonished the youngsters and pushed them out of the way so his lady love could get her fair share.
(Papa always watches and protects, rather than begs treat for himself -- totally unlike the younger Buster at Harlem Meer who takes everything for himself!)
Although the three "goslings" are now almost two years old, they still obediently oblige their Papa and moved out of the way, allowing Mama to gently scoop treats from my hand.
But, I wasn't the only one showing up to the Boat Lake yesterday with treats for the geese.
Several other people did -- including two families with kids!
The fact is, that almost from the day these goslings were hatched at Turtle Pond in May of 2010, this particular family of geese has been well accustomed to people and children "ooing and ahhing" over them and apparently offering daily treat.
That is why their mouths are so soft in swooping treats from human hands and they readily walk up to people, particularly when seeing families with children!
One little girl, about 7 or 8 with her father asked questions about the geese.
"Which is the girl and which is the boy, Daddy? How can you tell?"
The father of course had a hard time answering, so I attempted to volunteer.
"This is the Mama goose. You see how her mate is a little bigger and stands in back of her to protect?"
"Ah," she smiled and laughed. "He has a big neck!"
"Well, they need long necks to help them find food in the water and on the ground. And, you see over there? Those are the babies! But, they are grown up now, just like you will be one day."
The little girl seemed very pleased with her lesson for the day on geese.
"I like geese!" she smiled happily. "They are pretty!"
Her dad seemed almost, but not quite as intrigued with the geese as his daughter. He smiled and thanked me for answering the little girl's questions.
As it had become quite clear that the Turtle Pond goose family was neither relying on me for treats nor company, I decided to head north to Harlem Meer with my dogs to check on the Bradly Brigade (i.e. Brad, Piggly and Wiggly) as well as the geese there. I still had treats left.
As I turned to leave the rock area on the Boat Lake, a little boy was tossing bread to one of the youngsters of the Turtle Pond goose family with his parents smiling behind him:
Small wonder the Turtle Pond geese are still here! I thought when leaving. They have a huge, open lake that they don't have to share with other geese. They have a beautiful view of the city in the background. They have music and entertainment in the summer. And most of all, they have a regular, human fan club!
Arriving almost an hour later to Harlem Meer, I was pleased to see the Bradly (barnyard) brigade still doing well and all the migratory and resident geese still there and peacefully hanging out on the comparatively warm night.
But, if I have wondered why the Turtle Pond goose family didn't join and "gather" with all the other geese at Harlem Meer, I certainly got my answer yesterday.
There is simply no good reason for them to leave the goose paradise they seemingly have.
In fact, it is really past time for me to change their name from the "Turtle Pond Goose Family" to the "Boat Lake Goose Family."
Something tells me that unless and until the boat lake completely freezes over, the boat lake geese ain't going anywhere!. ;) -- PCA
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