(Photo -- Buster requesting his reward for a job well done!)
Buster returned to Harlem Meer last night and this time, be brought some old friends with him!
His message to me seemed to be, "I know you have been worrying about these guys, so I found and brought them back! Reward me!"
The "old friends" are a pair of geese who I videotaped last April at the Meer -- the last time a sizable population of geese were present there:
At the time, I found the particular pair very unusual and amusing because of their almost constant tendency to dive under the water and flaunt their butts high in the air.
It had been many months since seeing these two particular geese and yes, the irony is that I had just thought about them in recent days......
Whatever happened to the bottoms-up geese? Whatever happened to Bozo, Bonnie and all the other geese who were once at the Meer?
Well, last night, there were at least a dozen new geese at the Meer, along with Buster and his small troupe of vagabonds. But, I suspect the geese weren't "new" at all, but rather the diving duo and a number of other returnees.
The geese were all gathered along with Brad and the other ducks near the southern portion of the Meer when I arrived last night.
Imagine the sheer shock when seeing at least a dozen geese!
At first, I thought the new geese to be migratory. But, when they began to follow me along with the mallards to the usual gathering spot, it was obvious Buster had returned with his clan and apparently brought the new geese with him!
The newbies, for the most part, did not climb onto the grassy embankment, but rather elected to stay nearby in the water.
And that is when I noticed the two "diving geese" once again, performing their ritual in the water. Over and over again, they spun over face down in the lake with their white butts high in the air like celebratory waving flags!
(Unfortunately, I did not have my video camera with me and am thus relying today on old video. But, I am reasonably sure it is the same two geese. Its a little unusual to see geese engaging in the diving behavior on such repeated, consistent basis. These two truly seem to have a "thing" together and their synchronization is nearly perfect!)
So where have the diving duo and others been hiding out all these months?
I have no idea.
But, it was real nice last night to see them once again back.
And yes, I think the ever adventurous and inventive Buster might have had something to do with calling the Harlem Meer flock back. -- If for no other reason than to appease me and quell my fears.
I do believe geese are often quite capable of reading human minds.
And so, like last week, I offered Buster some extra treats for his hard work, which he gently took from my hand, while admonishing his other pals to stand back. The one nice thing about Buster is that he is willing to share hand treats with Brad, my very special duck at the Meer. Buster totally understands it is "beak off!" of Brad.
I of course, don't know if Buster will be at the Meer again tonight with the lost pals who he magically retrieved.
But, it was really thoughtful of him to let me know that the diving duo and other Meer geese have apparently and magically escaped the USDA onslaught on them.
Who said geese aren't considerate of humans? -- especially, when they know reward is waiting for them for deeds well done. ;) -- PCA
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