Bozi -- A Case Study of Grief in Animals

Bozi: After losing his nesting mate early in the spring, Bozi remained in the same area of the Jackie Onassis Reservoir for months. Though there was opportunity to join with other flocks and perhaps even find a new mate, Bozi chose to remain alone. Three months apparently not sufficient time to mourn and mend a broken heart.

Scientists are just beginning to catch up to what many of us have known for decades. 

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That is that yes, animals think, feel, organize, grieve and even plan as the Time magazine piece below attests to.

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http://time.com/3173937/what-are-animals-thinking-hint-more-that-you-suspect/

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Anyone doubting that need only observe Canada geese for a period of time. Their utter devotion to mates and offspring, their intricate social orders and hierarchy, their organization and cooperation, not only with their own species, but others as well. All of these point to a species that is highly social and adaptable to environment and changing circumstances, as well as consciously aware of what behaviors and actions to incorporate for optimum species survival.

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But, as the Time piece points out, what is true of geese is also true of many other species. 

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Certainly, the most bodies of scientific evidence to this point exist for dolphins, whales, elephants, the great apes, dogs, cats and others. But, that is only because these have been the most studied species.

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The goal of this blog has been to also study (and log) the behaviors of Canada geese.

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Time and again, geese have (also) demonstrated grief over the loss of mates, offspring  and family members.  While in most cases, such grief is, in time replaced by the stressors of nature to "move on and adapt" this is not always true.  

Sometimes the grief and mourning is prolonged. 

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One recent case of not quickly adapting and "moving on" is Bozi, the gander whose nesting mate, Floozie perished over this past spring at the Jackie Onassis Reservoir in Central Park.

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For weeks after the death of his beloved, Bozi patrolled the Reservoir, constantly calling out. His honks were long, eerie, hollow and somewhat reminiscent of a coyote howling at the moon. Certainly, they were nothing like the short and excitable honks usually heard from geese, particularly when in flight.

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Finally seeming to realize that Floozie was lost for good and never to return, Bozi eventually "tagged along" with another goose pair (John and Mary) on the water, though he always maintained respectful distance from the established couple.

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Around that time, other geese began arriving at the Reservoir in preparation for the molting season. (Period of six weeks when geese lose and regrow their flight feathers.)

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It was my hope then that Bozi would join up with one of the several flocks of geese that stayed at the Reservoir during the molt as that is what nature would presumably compel him to do.

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As there was a total of 26 geese at the Reservoir during the molt, it became difficult to differentiate Bozi from the other geese or for that matter, even decipher John and Mary.

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It was simply hoped and assumed Bozi would assimilate himself with others and perhaps even find a new mate.

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But, imagine the personal shock to discover Bozi alone on the water once again, after the other geese had left when regaining their flight feathers.

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The only other geese still remaining on the Reservoir post molting season were Hansel, Greta and their sadly doomed gosling at the time, Remy.

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Sadly, Remy (like the two goslings before her) also perished mostly likely due to egg addling which stifled and impacted normal development in the eggs. While Hansel and Greta remained at the Reservoir for at least a week following the loss of their last gosling, they eventually had to accept their losses and move on as nature compelled them to do.

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But, not so, Bozi who still remained stubbornly and steadfastly on the Reservoir, this time, utterly alone.

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I did not know what to make of this unusual and quite frankly, disturbing situation and for that reason, did not write of it in this blog. Put simply, I didn't know how to or exactly what to say.

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Nothing appeared to be physically wrong with Bozi that would prevent him from moving on with the other geese and otherwise explain the bizarre situation. 

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But, apparently the wound in his heart had never healed -- even over the three months from losing his mate and even the numerous opportunities to join with other geese or even find a new mate.

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For at least two weeks, I continued to see Bozi each evening patrolling lazily at the north east side of the Reservoir -- not far from where his ill fated mate had nested. He always recognized me and came in greeting. I would toss some cracked corn to Bozi and he would saunter on the rocks to eat.   But, I think that was more to placate me than due to any particular hunger.

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Still, I remained baffled and without explanation for why Bozi did not seem to realize the importance of finding other geese to flock with. As noted many times in this blog, the future is indeed grim for "loner" geese without other geese to at least tag along and loaf with.  

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Then one evening I went to the Reservoir to find the north east side of the running path that surrounds it, cordoned off from the public due to restoration work.  There was no way of going to the area where Bozi usually was found in the water.

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I walked to the far north side of the Reservoir (where the running path was still open to the public) to peer over the water, but could not see Bozi anywhere in the distance.

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I continued to do this for some nights, but it was the same story.  Bozi finally seemed to be gone.

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I am not sure if it was all the extra work activity occurring on the running path that finally spooked or prompted Bozi into leaving or something else, but he was nowhere to be found.

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Moreover, I don't know where Bozi might have gone.

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With the exception of the Boat Lake in Central Park, the other watercourses have been devoid of geese.  But, I know Bozi did not go to the Boat Lake, as it is the same 7 geese who have been there all summer.

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And so the mystery continues.  Why did Bozi not leave with the other geese when regaining flight?  Why did he not take advantage of opportunity to join other geese and find a possible new mate?  Why did he not seem to realize -- or care -- about the importance of doing these things?

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Finally, did nature ultimately prevail and did Bozi finally make the moves necessary to survive?  Or did he perhaps suddenly perish?

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I cannot answer any of these questions with any kind of certainty.

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What does seem certain in the sharing of this story is that in some geese, even three months is not time sufficient to mourn and "get over" the loss of a loved one.

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And so I say to the writer of the Time magazine piece, "It is not just elephants, dolphins or the great apes, but many other animals as well who think, feel and grieve -- perhaps, most notably, Canada geese."

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As for we humans, the irrefutable and mounting scientific evidence demonstrating how other species of animals think, feel, communicate, grieve, plan, organize and in some cases, even name each other (something I also believe true of Canada geese from personal observances) present us with enormous ethical challenge and moral dilemma for the future.  

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For if compelled to finally face the truth about other animals, it also compels us to examine and reevaluate our behaviors towards and treatments of them which to this point, have been noting short of abominable throughout the ages.  -- PCA

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Where the Geese Are......

"The Family." -- Daddy to the left. Mama and now grown goslings on right.

Mama (top) daughter, left and son, right.

Gaggle of three geese given bum's rush by Daddy gander (far lower right)

"The banished three."

Family watching other geese on water.

"Lady" -- mama goose.

One of the banished three warily returning -- after family left.

 Of all the false charges against Canada geese, the one I personally find most bizarre is that geese "chase out other birds." Nothing could be further from the truth -- or at least generally speaking, that is.   But, more about this later...... 

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These days one has to look long and hard to find Canada geese in Central Park.

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Since the molting season ended and the geese left the Jackie Onassis Reservoir (where most of them stayed during their six week flightless period), virtually all of Central Park watercourses have been devoid of geese with the exception of the Boat Lake.

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But, it is not only 7 geese at the Boat Lake (One family of four geese and a gaggle of three) but it seems also, most of Central Park's mallards!

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Put simply, where one finds geese, there are also the other birds.

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Recent visits to the Boat Lake found not only geese and ducks, but also flocks of pigeons, sparrows, a few cardinals and other birds flittering about. The area on the north side of the Boat Lake (and Rambles) is in fact, like a small Avery these days. 

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While geese are generally very peaceful and accepting of other birds, there is a definite hierarchy among them.  At the very top of that hierarchy are parent geese with goslings.

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Put simply, families rule in the goose world.

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The Boat Lake geese are no exception to this very hard and steadfast rule.

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The gaggle of three geese are constantly on the look-out for the family of four and are completely beholden to them.

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As soon as the parent geese and their two (now fully grown) goslings arrive to a location, the three adult geese have to immediately leave in deference to the family.  Should they fail to do so quickly enough, the gander of the family aggressively goes after and sends them flying to the water.  

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There, the banished three remain until such time the family finally decides to leave and then they can safely return to the site.   

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But, it is not only the gander of the family who engages in harassment behaviors in order to protect mate and offspring, but the hen, as well.   While its the gander's "job" to go after other geese or predatory threat, Mama goose's job apparently is to keep smaller birds away from goslings, such as ducks or pigeons. (Or, it could be that the mama of these particular goslings is especially vigilant and protective. "Lady" after all, went through a lot to finally hatch these two goslings. Lady is on constant vigil, as is her gander, "Man.") 

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For their part, the two goslings (who are now almost nine weeks old and fully developed), have taken on much of the parents' behaviors, including high vigilance and loyalty to the family. It appears that one of the goslings is a boy and the other a girl based upon size and behaviors.

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Though neither I nor Liliana (the regular observer of the Boat Lake water birds) have seen the goslings flying yet, it is foregone conclusion that the parents will soon be teaching them to do so as it appears the young now have flight feathers and should have full flight capability.

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But, mostly what we are seeing now is once again, the highly ingrained patterns of hierarchy in geese (high status vs low status) based upon established mated pairs and especially, the presence of goslings.  Unpaired geese and especially any "loners" are at the very bottom of goose totem poles.

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While to casual observers, such hierarchies may at times appear "aggressive" or even mean, (in terms of "chasing other birds") they serve purpose in terms of survival of the species itself. It is after all, the mated pairs and protection and survival of their offspring that guarantee perpetuation of the species. But, it is never a case of geese being "aggressive" for aggressive sake. When not paired up for mating and/or raising young, geese are among the most peaceful and welcoming birds on the planet to others. Were that not so, other birds would not flock to and be so comfortable around geese -- even when there is an established goose family. 

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Like other geese, the mallards and other birds quickly learn and just seem to "know" to keep respectful distance from the family and all will be cool.  If not, they have to be prepared to lose a few feathers. But, even that is better than losing life.

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I personally believe that other birds like hanging with the geese because of the extra measure of security and vigilance that the geese provide.  -- Just watch out for the gander, his missus and their growing "brats." 

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Family rules in the goose world and that often seems true on entire watercourses and to all the birds on them. -- PCA

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Under Cover of Darkness, They Fly and Gently Land

Depressed, I was about to turn away and leave when suddenly a flock of nine flew in and landed gently on the water.

And then the geese were joined by a flock of mallards.

While it was painful to witness all three goslings perish at the Reservoir this summer and assume it was due to natural predation, it is stunning and sickening to realize they were doomed from day one due to the "Get the Flock Out!" goose harassment and egg destruction policies of Central and other NYC parks. (See previous blog entries.)

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Tonight I looked out over a silent and desolate, Jackie Onassis Reservoir with no water birds on it.

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Depressed and feeling hopeless, I turned to leave when suddenly a flock of 9 geese flew in and landed on the water to roost for the evening.

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Less than a minute after the geese enthusiastically arrived, a flock of mallards also flew in and landed close to the geese.  (This after USDA "Wildlife Services" claimed that one of the reasons they killed all the geese at PP in 2010 was because they kept out the ducks. What an outrageous lie that is.) 

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They are all in a battle for their lives in New York City and the geese and mallards seem to know it. 

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And yet, with perennial determination and will to carry on, they float wistfully through clouds and with the cover of darkness, to gently land on water and joyfully announce, "We are here! We are here!"

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Hope springs eternal -- even through the otherwise madness, intolerance and blindness of our own species. -- PCA 

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Writing on the Wall for Geese and Other Wildlife of New York City Parks?

The two miracle goslings of the Boat Lake in Central Park with parents bringing up the rear. Sadly, the Reservoir goslings were ultimately among the many human created casualties. These goslings only hatched due to sheer determination and extraordinary efforts of the parents.

One of the seven-week-old goslings.

"Daddy" keeping watch while mom and babies graze.

It appears that Hansel and Greta, the bereaved parents of the three ill-fated goslings from the Jackie Onassis Reservoir in Central Park have finally given up all hope for their last lost youngster and left the Reservoir -- presumably to join with other geese and find better food sources.  

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They however, deserve great respect and admiration for not having abandoned Remy,  their last gosling, when it was abundantly clear to them she would not ultimately survive. 

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The reason for proclaiming the above is based upon a visit to the Boat Lake in Central Park yesterday and finally seeing the family with two goslings there. 

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These goslings hatched on June 28th -- more than three weeks after the three goslings at the Reservoir.

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When arriving to the area of Bow Bridge yesterday, I saw, what appeared to be a flock of four adult geese in the water.

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But, as they swam closer, two of the geese were slightly smaller and one had bits of down still on her head.  It was clear this was the family of four.

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I was able to get many photos of the family as they were never more than a couple of feet apart from each other, whether on water or land. The parents were extremely watchful and protective of their young ones.  

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The nearly seven-week-old, Boat Lake goslings are almost fully grown, robust and strong, with developed flight feathers and adult coloring -- including clearly defined chin straps and pure white bottoms and bellies.  They appear ready to fly.

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Tragically, though she was far older than the Boat Lake goslings, we did not see such rapid (and normal) development in Remy, the last gosling at the Reservoir. On the contrary, Remy was only slightly larger than mallards and was still covered in mostly yellowish down with colors only starting to change and wings beginning to develop when she suddenly perished ten days ago. 

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Most startling however, regarding the Reservoir goose family, was that the behavior of the three goslings (and parents, to some degree) was never consistent with what we almost always see in goose families.

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I tried to attribute the atypical behavior to parents possibly being very young or goslings being unusually adventurous and independent. But, all along I had concerns about what seemed the slow growth and development of the hatchlings (though only having witnessed two other goose families in the past to compare it to).  I guess I didn't want to believe anything was seriously wrong.

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But, it is very clear now that something definitely affected or interfered with the development of the Reservoir goslings -- probably while they were still in the eggs. And it is also apparent that the parents were aware of something wrong, but they obviously could not know what.  Out of duty and devotion, the parents stayed with their weakened offspring despite all the odds against them.

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Some will disagree, but I'm personally convinced that the developing babies were deprived of oxygen while in the eggs -- something that occurs in egg addling. (When "successful," egg addling results in suffocation of the developing embryo.)

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One thing we do know is that this failure to thrive had absolutely nothing to do with  raccoons, snapping turtles or any other animal predator.

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The fact is, these three goslings were doomed from the very moment they hatched.

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Though predators may have contributed to or hastened actual deaths in the end, the goslings would never have survived through the other challenges of nature. It's quite likely they never would have been able to fly as their bodies lacked the strength and robustness apparent in goslings far younger than them.

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That one gosling survived for two months suffering impairment was perhaps a miracle in itself.  We can only hope these pitiful little babies got to enjoy a little of life -- though this had to be ultimately far more heart wrenching for the parents than had the eggs never hatched at all.

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Some have doubted my claims about egg addling at the Central Park Reservoir, but as previously noted, more than 30 goose eggs have been laid at the Reservoir over the past two years and only three hatched. Moreover, two nesting hens died from unknown illness this year shortly after laying eggs.

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And we now know now that something obviously affected and/or interfered with the development of the three Reservoir hatchlings -- something not due to animal predation.

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Returning to the Boat lake goose family, it should be noted that "Lady," (the Mother goose), laid ten eggs before these two finally hatched.  The first clutch of five eggs were lost in rain storm. A second clutch of three eggs disappeared.  Finally, Lady apparently laid two more and these eggs hatched even to the great surprise of a dedicated goose watcher. (Guess is, that it was not anticipated by Geese Police either that the hen would lay more eggs. -- These parents were very determined.) I credit my friend, Liliana for insuring that Lady and her "Man" were always well nourished even through the harsh winter. It's amazing the hen did not take ill for all the egg laying and forgoing of food.

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I share this important information in order that we not seek natural explanation for why these goslings and two nesting hens ultimately died at Reservoir this summer and spring as there was nothing "natural" about them.  While we may not know exactly what happened and when, we can eliminate blame for actual deaths to normal animal predations (as the Central Park Conservancy tried to do in "explaining" the death of Floozie, the second nesting and dead goose).  

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Its of course possible the two deceased nesting hens lacked proper nutrition and fat reserves for nesting rigors. Its also possible goslings suffered developmental impairment while in the eggs due to poor nutrition of the hen and/or genetic mutation.  

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But, adding everything up over the years, my personal deduction for such wide scale destruction is egg addling (in addition to nearly year-round goose harassment in Central Park). 

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Too many losses over the past two years to merely attribute to the whims of nature.

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Over the past two days, I have visited nearly all of the Central Park watercourses and have been shocked to find barely any ducks or geese on any of them with the exception of the Boat Lake. (There are also three other geese at the Boat Lake.) 

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It was only a few years ago when Central Park lakes and ponds would be filled with hundreds of mallards this time of year and many dozens of geese. That there are less than ten geese in all of Central Park now and only a few dozen ducks is positively stunning and unexplainable.   Apparently, as the geese go, so go most of the ducks.

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I (like others) did not want to believe that "my" park would embark on a program of zero tolerance for Canada geese, but it appears from all indications, that is exactly what is slowly happening in Central Park.  If the policy is to destroy all known goose eggs, then that alone will result in the elimination of all resident geese within five years or so as geese almost always return to their places of hatching.

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While encouraging to realize two healthy goslings hatched this year due to the sheer determination and extraordinary efforts of the parents, the fact is, two are not enough to carry on the species over the ensuing years.

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The writing is on the wall for Canada geese, not just in Central Park, but all NYC parks.

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The question is, is it also on the wall for ducks and other wildlife of our city parks?

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Among this morning's emails is one from the Central Park Conservancy boasting of their upcoming "Film Festival" in addition to various tours and improvement of the Reservoir running path.

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But, there is no mention of wildlife of any kind nor the nearly year round harassment and  destruction of the young of Canada geese.

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Perhaps it is ultimately what is not written that ultimately shouts volumes. -- PCA

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Cruel Summers at Jackie Onassis Reservoir in Central Park

Jackie Onassis Reservoir in Central Park. Beneath a beautiful picture, sadness and continued loss.

Remy in one of last photos taken of her. A day later, she mysteriously vanished and has not been seen since.

Hansel and Greta, bereaved goose parents lingering and searching, but seemingly resigned to still another loss.

We are trying to grapple with and make sense of the unexplainable.  Anything is possible, but little, if anything makes sense.

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I am writing particularly of the loss this past week of the last of the three goslings (Remy) from the Jackie Onassis Reservoir in Central Park.

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Remy's two other siblings vanished and mysteriously perished weeks earlier.  Like them, Remy also mysteriously vanished and it is difficult to figure reason why, especially considering Remy's age and size. At the time of her disappearance, Remy was larger than a mallard and was just beginning to sprout wings (though not yet capable of flying).  

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Others are speculating raccoon or snapping turtle attacks. Such explanation might seem plausible were it not for such extreme egg and goose losses over the past two years at the Reservoir.

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During the past two years, 8 pairs of geese have attempted to nest at Reservoir. Two nesting hens died within weeks of each other this year and over the two years, only three goslings hatched out of more than 30 eggs laid. Add to that, the losses of all three goslings within two months of hatching this year. 

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To me, these kinds of extreme and unnatural losses are not explained by snapping turtles or raccoons alone. Though I have seen snapping turtles at the Central Park Boat Lake and been told they exist at Reservoir, I have never actually seen one there. As for raccoons, I have never seen one even succeed at stealing an egg as goose pairs put up strong defense of eggs and goslings.

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We know for a fact, egg addling (oiling goose eggs so they fail to hatch due to oxygen deprivation) occurs at the other watercourses of Central Park under the auspices of the Central Park Conservancy and has been for some years. The Reservoir is under the watch and control of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), but it is presumed egg addling occurs there too, due to the large number of goose eggs (over 30) that failed to hatch at the Reservoir over the past two years.

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Nevertheless, three eggs (out of four laid) did hatch at the Reservoir this year.

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At first it was speculated that since the goose pair nested a little late, it was possible that the eggs were missed and we thus had, "miracle goslings!"

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But, now with all three goslings perishing within two months of hatching, I personally suspect that the eggs had indeed been tampered with, but for whatever reason, 3 of the 4 eggs hatched anyway.

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But, could it be that these goslings were doomed from the very start from having suffered some oxygen deprivation early in their development?

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From the very beginning of their hatching, the goose family appeared very "different" from two other goose families previously observed.

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For one matter, the family was far less structured than other goose families, with goslings frequently wandering off (in one case, for nearly a full day) and the parents appearing to be less in control and less attentive and vigilant in terms of protection and discipline than other goose parents. 

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Was it possible that the goose parents knew or sensed something amiss that we casual human observers could not? 

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That of course is impossible to know because none of us can get inside of the geese's heads.

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The parents, while attending to perfunctory duties of parenthood did not appear (to me) of being that engaged with their offspring. It was almost as if they were preparing themselves for loss.

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I recently shared these troubling events with a woman who is a syndicated and investigative journalist and goose expert.  She also suspects egg addling "has something to do with it" though I told her raccoons are in the area and snapping turtles in Central Park.

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Nevertheless, there are others who are convinced raccoons or snapping turtles are the culprits in these losses.  While I acknowledge that predators might have contributed to or hastened goose, egg or gosling deaths, they just don't explain at this point, the long list of egg losses, nesting goose deaths, unusual goose parental and gosling behavior and finally, the death and disappearance of the last gosling, Remy.  Predators are lucky to get one or two eggs or goslings. They don't usually wipe out entire families.  

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Still, the bottom line is, none of us knows for sure what has happened.  There are different theories and any could be partially right or wrong and perhaps even all are factors.  It's simply been painful to witness these unusual and tragic losses and not know specifically what's gone so terribly wrong.

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Presently, Hansel and Greta (the goose parents) still remain at the Reservoir. They have spent the last four days seemingly in search of their last gosling, but now appear somewhat resigned to still another loss. I suspect that when finally giving up all hope, they will probably leave the Reservoir as it is not an ideal place in terms of low natural food supplies and rough terrain for year round stay.  

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In summation, its been a rough and cruel two past summers at the Reservoir in Central Park.

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Loss of Remy is particularly distressing as there seemed real hope that she might survive after having made it this long.

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But, apparently, it was never meant to be.

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As said, lots of possibilities and theories, but few, if any making sense.

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That only the geese could actually talk to us.   -- PCA

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Recovery for Humans and Geese

Lilly eating from Liliana's hand about a week before becoming ill and requiring rescue last month.

Hard to see then, but Lilly was suffering from low levels of lead poisoning and malnutrition.

Remy, the surviving gosling from Jackie Onassis Reservoir in Central Park going through "awkward" stage.-- All neck and legs.

Remy quickly gaining goose colors, tail and soon to sprout wings.

 "Good advice that you just didn't take."  (Such is line from the Alanis Morissette song, "Isn't it Ironic?")

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I recall years ago, my daughter telling me more than once, "Mom, when you're picking up something heavy, you need to use your legs, not your back!"

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The advice was a million miles away when picking up a heavy bag last week and suddenly feeling the vertebrae in my back depart and go someplace else.

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I was good for nothing the rest of the week as the pain was so incredible as to make the simple acts of tying a shoe lace or picking something up from the floor intolerable.

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This impacted especially my relationship with animals.

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I have two elderly, 20 lb dogs (Tina, who is nearly 21-years-old and Chance who is 17) who both need to be carried up the stairs when taken for a walk.  Fortunately, there is only one flight of stairs to climb to my apartment, but it might as well be ten.  

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The past week has been comprised of trying to figure minimally painless ways to pick  puppy pads up from the floor (deep knee bends) and moving as little as possible. This also meant drastically curtailing time spent in front of computer as it felt like all the bones in my spine were crushingly compressing.

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When people talk of "back pain" it is truly nothing to sneeze at, was quickly learned the hard way and literally.   A few nights ago, when feeling momentarily better, I suddenly sneezed and once again, the vertebrae suddenly departed and I was back to square one -- or more precisely, back in bed (and not in fun way).

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Lucky for me, a couple of very good friends came by on Saturday to help supply with pet food, Advil and even walk my dogs.

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From there, the road to recovery has been slow and delicate, but steady -- to the point, I am finally able to write a blog entry today without experiencing the tortures of the damned.

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But, what has been most interesting throughout this ordeal was the way I was seemingly able to "train my" few remaining geese at the Jackie Onassis Reservoir in Central Park to come to me, rather than me going to them. (One of the other things that had to be drastically curtailed were daily walks in the park as anything more than a half hour of standing or walking was excruciating.)

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Virtually all of the 25 geese who molted at the Reservoir over the past 6 to 7 weeks departed as of this past week.  (This, despite my feeding them throughout the molt.)   The only three geese remaining now are the family, Hansel, Greta and their two-month-old gosling, Remy.

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Remy is of course, not able to fly yet (and won't be for at least another month) and so the family, for all intents and purposes is rooted to the Reservoir for now -- though certainly not always together.

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As has been the case from day one of her hatching, the independent Remy still likes to wander and explore on her own and her hippie-like, modern goose parents still give her free reign to do so.  I have given up all hope that this particularly goose family will ever be "normal," but at least during my personal week of physical trial and tribulation, they were more than accommodating and seemingly empathetic.  

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Wherever they are on the Reservoir when I arrive each evening, the family quickly hurries over when seeing me, the daddy of the group, even flying towards my face one night.

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I barely need to walk far beyond the 90th Street entrance to the park and that has been (and is) huge relief.  (Who says geese aren't aware and compassionate to human needs?)

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I am also hugely relieved that Hansel and Greta didn't just up and take off with all the other geese and leave their one surviving baby behind.   While they may not be the most attentive and dedicated goose parents ever seen, they at least have some sense of parental duty and responsibility.

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Remy is growing very fast now and her colors rapidly changing to look more like a goose, though still at the "awkward" (all neck and legs) stage. She is a little bigger than the mallards now and sometimes appears that she thinks herself a mallard by frequently swimming with them.  Sadly, there were no other surviving goslings at the Reservoir this summer and as noted, all the other geese have left.  So, perhaps it is not too surprising, the seeming "kinship" between Remy and the ducks.  Remy's parents, though devoted to each other, are very "wings off" and minimalist regarding their surviving child. Hopefully and presumably, they will at least teach Remy how to fly when the time comes.

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In other good news, "Lilly," the goose who had to be rescued from the Central Park Boat Lake last month has recovered at The Wild Bird Fund from lead poisoning and malnutrition and is ready for release.

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Rita, Director of WBF, called a couple of days ago and we discussed Lilly's release.

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While normally birds are released to the site they were rescued from, in this particular case, decision was made for Lilly to go to an estate upstate where hopefully she will survive better than she was at the Boat Lake in CP. Lilly was a "loner" goose at the Boat Lake (without mate or flock) and was subjected to all kinds of stress and harassment (dogs, fishing, boats, hostile people and Geese Police) and its unlikely the goose family presently there with two goslings would warmly welcome her.  According to Rita, the estate is very peaceful and safe and there are other geese who hopefully will eventually accept Lilly.

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I later discussed this decision with Liliana (Lilly's rescuer) and she too agreed that, under the circumstances, Lilly was better off going to the estate as her brief stint at the Boat Lake nearly culminated in her death. The fact was, as a loner goose, Lilly simply wasn't doing well there, despite Liliana's monitoring and care. Geese are flock birds who need other geese.

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There are unfortunately, few places in NYC these days that welcome any geese at all -- including regrettably, Central Park.  It was a tough and difficult decision, but we all believe in the particular case of Lilly, the right one.

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So, all and all, an eventful week.

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Now flighted geese leaving their molting locations to gather and prepare for fall migrations, growing goslings changing colors and just beginning to sprout wings that will later take them on exciting adventures and slow and delicate healing for an old lady and a loner goose.

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One learns gratitude during times like these.  Gratitude to good friends, "empathetic" geese and to those dedicated and talented people who know how to take an animal from the brink of death to "going to the door" in search of freedom and release.

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On the latter note, please support The Wild Bird Fund for without it, thousands of birds (and other wildlife) in peril would have no place to go in NYC for treatment and expert, tender care:

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Wild Bird Fund | Saving NYC Wildlife

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As for this "old lady" in recovery, I will better remember the words of the Alanis Morissette song (and my daughter) when lifting heavy items and gratefully walk my dogs tonight.  --PCA

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