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Ah, you knew it had to come -- just not quite so soon.
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I am talking about winter, of course.
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But, I am not talking of forecasts or "polar vortex."
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I am talking about the geese.
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Because better than any meteorologist or Doppler Radar, nothing better predicts the weather about to tank than both, the migratory and resident Canada geese.
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At least 100 migratory geese flew into the Jackie Onassis Reservoir in Central Park last week -- exactly one day prior to the temperatures dropping more than 20 degrees. The geese of course did not stay more than an hour or two. They were long gone before the sun set.
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Then there are our few "resident" geese at the Boat Lake in Central Park.
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For the past several months, the family of four geese, Man, Lady and their two ("brat") goslings hatched this past July, have claimed top billing at the lake, chasing out any and all other geese who dared to cross their path.
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One pair of geese have however, stubbornly hung in at the Boat lake. But Warrior and Princess are on constant lookout for "The Family" and know well to get out of their way once all four take to the sky for the soul purpose of harassment.
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When saying, "soul purpose of harassment," such is very different from geese flying for purposes of transportation (the famous "V-formation"). Rather, when flying to harass, the geese (in this case, The Family) fly in a straight, horizontal line (presumably, to appear larger than they actually are) and honk very loudly and aggressively, sounding more like a dozen geese than just four. Such sight and sound is enough to intimidate virtually all geese -- including the fairly gutsy, Warrior and Princess. When the family comes a -charging, they go a-flying.
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But, something very unusual was observed this past Sunday.
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The family of four had suddenly become six!
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At first, I could not believe my eyes!
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Had six new geese suddenly arrived to the Boat Lake? I wondered. Perhaps the new geese were migratory?
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But when noting the geese were in a very public area -- and brazenly walking up to people on a pedestrian path and posing for photos -- it became very clear very fast, that this was indeed, The Family up to their usual Sunday afternoon "tricks." (Yes, they actually put on shows for people!)
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But, who were the other two?
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I knew from just having visited with Warrior and Princess on the other side of the lake, the new geese were not them.
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But, who were they and why were Man and Lady so casually appearing to accept them tagging along with them and the kids?
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Had Man and Lady suddenly decided to become charitable, welcoming and willing to share the wealth?
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Well, yes and no.
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For sure, Man and Lady are fast changing their tactics. But, it is not so much out of "kindness" of their hearts, as much as awareness that weather and conditions are about to radically go south.
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As temperatures drop, open water begins to freeze and ice over. When that occurs, it is "all wings on deck" to huddle up together for warmth and vigorously take turns swimming in order to maintain any open water at all.
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And it is not just geese suddenly welcoming and befriending otherwise adversaries, but ducks as well. In fact, geese and ducks will typically huddle and work together in winter to try and create and maintain open water. (Geese, being larger and heavier than ducks can break up thin sheets of ice. Ducks being smaller and faster than geese, can help maintain the newly created open water by swimming quick, small circles within.)
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I have personally seen this scenario many times in recent years.
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Perhaps the best example was "Brad and Angelina" (domestic Rouen ducks) who suddenly befriended "Joey" a lone and flightless, Pekin duck, who Brad had literally tortured throughout the entire summer and most of the fall. In November of 2010, Brad suddenly did an about face, and welcomed Joey into his otherwise anemic flock of two (flightless ducks).
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And it was a good thing Brad did that.
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Because, it was not more than a month later that a blizzard hit NYC at Christmas and all the "fair weather mallards" deserted Harlem Meer. Brad, Angelina and Joey were all alone on an entirely frozen lake with only a bathtub-sized pool of open water to swim, literally 24/7.
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It was a tireless struggle for the three domestic ducks who could not fly and escape anywhere.
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Fortunately, for them, a few days later, when temperatures warmed a bit, some of the mallards returned to help them. But, it was a very tough winter for all the ducks. One could almost feel their excitement, the few times some geese dropped by to help break up the ice on water and snow on the ground.
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And so yes, water birds have to form calculated alliances just prior to winter's descent as such is to help ensure survival. The motto quickly becomes, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." -- ("Enemy" in this case, being winter.)
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While I was initially surprised this past Sunday that The Family did not fly in their familiar "horizontal line" to attack and harass Warrior and Princess when I was visiting with them, it all makes sense now.
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Just as their sudden "welcoming and befriending" of two foreign geese makes sense now.
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You see, the "polar votex" is about to hit NYC and for the next two days, we will be well below freezing.
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But, Man and Lady obviously knew that three days ago.
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"Welcome our friends, to this glorious Boat lake in Central Park! What's ours is yours!"
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Yeah, right.
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Over the next few days and weeks that is going to become, "OK, guys, get your asses in gear. We gotta work to keep this damn lake from becoming one solid block of ice! SWIM! SWIM, SWIM! No rest for the weary!"
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And yes, I suspect Man and lady will be welcoming Warrior and Princess into the fold any day now (if they haven't done so already).
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They already extended the olive branch this past Sunday by not attacking.
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Winter is about to make its first -- but certainly not last -- appearance and the geese and ducks well know that.
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It is now, All Wings On Deck! -- PCA
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