The Perilous Molt Finally Over, the Geese are Flying Again!

All 32 of the geese who arrived at the Central Park Reservoir in mid-June for the molt have now regained flight feathers and departed.

But, the goslings not quite ready for flight yet.

With only the family and John and Mary remaining now, the Reservoir seems eerily empty.

It came as no surprise yesterday to go to the Central Park Reservoir and find only 7 geese -- Hansel, Greta, their three surviving goslings, along with John and Mary.

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It had become obvious over the past week that the perilous molt was nearing end, as some of the geese were already flying.

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I use the term, "perilous" not only to refer to massacres that occur to flightless geese around the country during the molt, but also to the barrage of negative, complaining articles (such as one shared yesterday) about geese during the times they are basically marooned to a specific location and causing great consternation among some people.  

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It seems our species has very little patience and tolerance for the dictates of nature when such laws are inconvenient to us. Reality is however, that no one wants "movement" more than the geese themselves.  They are not happy campers without the ability of flight and are very eager to regain flying capability as soon as they are able to.  

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When once the molting geese at the Reservoir regained flight feathers, they all took off over the past two days -- just as all  32 had arrived around the same time in mid-June.

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Hansel and Greta of course cannot go anywhere because their goslings are not yet ready to fly. It is anticipated that flying capability for the three goslings should occur sometime over the next month. It should be exciting to observe that.

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John and Mary, like Hansel and Greta arrived at the Reservoir in the early spring for nesting.  Sadly, for the third year in a row their nest was destroyed and eggs lost. But, since they did not arrive with the 30+ geese specifically for the molt, they don't leave with them either.

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Though not certain, I suspect Greta and Mary might be sisters and may be among the goslings that hatched at the Reservoir around six or seven years ago. From information read, geese often return to the place they were hatched for nesting and it is usually the females who determine nesting sites. Certainly, there seems no great kinship between Hansel and John, though these days they appear to be on peaceful terms. But, there might actually be connection between the girls.

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Perhaps it's good for the goslings to have other geese around besides their parents -- though its not clear how long John and Mary will actually stay now that they can fly. Should they remain a while, that might be suggestive of actual relationship between the female geese, Mary and Greta.

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All of the observations of the past few weeks punch huge holes in the oft repeated contention contained in many articles that "when fed by humans, geese never leave a location." 

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Of course geese leave locations (has they have been doing for millennium) regardless of whether they are fed by humans or not.

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I have observed this repeatedly over the years and in all seasons. Put simply, when nature calls for the geese to leave, they do. I frankly don't think tournedos would stop them.

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Moreover, despite me tossing treats to the family every evening at the Reservoir, I know more surely than my own name, that as soon as the goslings can fly, they too, will be gone -- as will John and Mary.  The only question is, will all 7 geese leave together or (more likely) will John and Mary leave sooner? That, I make no predictions on.

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Speaking about challenges of the molt, an excellent, informative column about the goose molt was recently published in The Huffington Post by journalist and goose expert, Mary Lou Simms. I personally urge all following this blog to read it:

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Annual Summer Molt: 'Hard on the Geese' | Mary Lou Simms

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It's truly rare to read anything these days that is 100% accurate (especially when the subject is geese), but this appears to hit the mark.

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The geese don't have many friends in the media, but thank God for the small handful they and we (who love geese) have.   -- PCA 

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