Conversations of the Geese

(Photos - Newly arrived mated  goose pair last night.  Gander keeps protective watch while female [foreground] eats.)

 

 

A little trip back in time today.

 

Reading over journal entries from last January and February, I am reminded of just how hard the struggles for Brad and his then companions, Angelina and Joey last year, as well as the other ducks and geese in Central Park.

 

2011 was an unusually brutal winter. By this time last year we had more than 35 inches of snow and all the watercourses in Central Park were almost entirely frozen over.

 

Harlem Meer was literally like a ice skating rink through all of January and most of February of 2011 -- except for the tiny pool of open water (less than a couple of feet in diameter) near the Dana Center that Brad and his two flightless helpmates managed to create and maintain.    While the mallards and geese occasionally aided in breaking up some of the ice last winter, when the going got really tough, (such as blizzards and near-zero temperatures) all of them left the Meer.

 

Fast forward to this year. 

 

So far, we have only had 7 inches of snow in New York City and all the watercourses have remained open except for a brief period a few weeks ago when most of Harlem Meer temporarily froze over.   But, even that lasted less than a week.

 

In essence, Brad has really had it "easy" this year compared to the last two previous winters.

 

Additionally, the warmer winter this year resulted in nearly 100 mallards and almost as many migratory geese staying at Harlem Meer throughout December and January.  Brad, Piggly and Wiggly never had to seriously worry about the lake freezing entirely over with that number of birds on it.

 

But, as previously mentioned, the migratory geese left Harlem Meer almost two weeks ago, presumably to migrate early back to New Foundland and Canada.  

 

But, new geese are arriving almost daily to Central Park now.

 

Some just fly over the park and continue on their journeys north.  Others stop over in Central Park for brief rest or grazing periods before moving on.

 

I could see dozens of geese temporarily resting on the Reservoir last night on my way to Harlem Meer and others were heard honking and flying through the skies, both on the walk to and from the Meer. (Ah, such beautiful music to the ears!  -- Better than Vivaldi!)

 

I was therefore not surprised to see numerous gaggles of new geese resting on the water last night at Harlem Meer.

 

The geese were mostly spread out in family groups of 5 to 10 around the lake and communicated with each other through a colophony of melodic "honks" going back and forth from one group to the other

 

One could imagine them "discussing" the strategies of the journey still to come and the happenings of the journey already achieved:

 

"Man, that was rough going over Pennsylvania!   We lost two of our yearlings to hunters!"

 

"Yeah, us too!  Maybe we should hang here a few days at least until the hunting season is over in most places.  Can't believe they are still shooting at us this late in the season!"

 

Of course, one cannot be sure all of the new geese are migratorys from the far north.

 

Some might actually be NYC "resident" geese returned to the Meer after spending December and January further south:

 

"Ah, its so good to be home again!  Can't believe we made it through all those hails of bullets!  Thank the Lord!"

 

Although most of the new geese remained resting in the water sharing stories or strategies with each other, two of them actually approached me last night.

 

What appeared to be a mated pair of geese.

 

The gander cautiously walked up to me and gently took a few seeds from my hand almost as if to "test" if I was actually safe.  But then he took up "sentry" position a few feet from his mate while the female goose hungrily took treats from my hand and swooped some off the ground.

 

It seems that even after a long, treacherous trip the ganders take their protective duties far more seriously than any hunger pangs.  The female goose was lucky to have a mate so self-sacrificing, dutiful and protective.

 

Meanwhile, Buster and his charges arrived for their daily treat, as did Loner, the #7" goose who is sometimes with the clan and sometimes not.

 

Surprisingly, Buster did not attempt to "goose" the mated pair of geese already on the embankment.   Perhaps the guarding posture of the gander over his mate sent a signal to Buster that the two geese were not to be messed with.  Or, perhaps Buster actually had some special respect or sympathy for the migratory geese after their long journey.

 

But, Buster did keep his own flockmates in line -- as he always does.

 

The ducks were all there of course.   And indeed, like the geese, there seemed to be more mallards last night.

 

This made things more difficult for Chrissy, the lame mallard who last night, had to compete with many more ducks than normal for what few treats she could grab.

 

As Chrissy sat on the ground, I tried to put hand fulls of treats right in front of her.  But, there were so many mallards surrounding her, it was hard to discern how much she was actually able to get.

 

Meanwhile, Brad ran around chatting away to his flockmates, Piggly and Wiggly, presumably about all the new birds suddenly at the Meer.

 

"Wow, look at all the migratorys here!  I sure could have used these guys last winter!"

 

Piggly, taking Brad's complaints to heart, used the opportunity (or excuse) to peck the butt of an unsuspecting goose in the water!

 

"You geese are only here because of our generosity in sharing our lake with you!  You'd better know we are the top birds of the Meer!"

 

The goose (not Buster, obviously) looked behind nonchalantly, but was totally unphased by Piggly's attempt at dominance.  Rather, s/he continued to rest on the water with his/her mate.

 

"Nothing to worry over, dear.  Just some silly duck trying to show off.  They should only know what we have had to deal with and been through!"

 

Piggly finally got back in line with Wiggly and Brad when realizing he was not able get this goose's "gander" so to speak.

 

Leaving the Meer last night with my usual lively duck and geese "escorts" I noticed several geese on the water with their heads tucked behind them in sleeping position.

 

"Rest little ones.  You've obviously had a long, tough journey.  Welcome home."

 

Looking back over the entries of last year, there is little question that geese (and apparently mallards) are migrating several weeks earlier this winter than last.

 

But, I have to hope that most of the migratorys temporarily resting in various areas of Central Park do in fact, "move on" and do so, rather quickly.

 

One has to wish, that among the many conversations of the geese last night was the one in which they discuss and realize that New York City is not a "safe" place for them over the spring and the ensuing deadly summer.

 

"New York City is a nice place to visit or rest, guys.   But, we dare not try to live here!"

 

"That's right, migratorys" honks Buster sympathetically. "Even I will have to leave with my gaggle in another month or two.   Beware the dogs.  And most of all,. beware the humans in the white trucks."    -- PCA

 

 

 

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