When I first got interested in birds, I took a local class, where I learned that I'd been calling these by the wrong name my whole life. It's Canada Goose, not Canadian Goose! Branta canadensis in Latin.
Go see the Friday Ark for more critter pics!
Friday, February 10, 2006
Visitors
We had some handsome visitors. They didn't stay long, though... Jasmine wasn't very hospitable.
When I first got interested in birds, I took a local class, where I learned that I'd been calling these by the wrong name my whole life. It's Canada Goose, not Canadian Goose! Branta canadensis in Latin.
Go see the Friday Ark for more critter pics!
When I first got interested in birds, I took a local class, where I learned that I'd been calling these by the wrong name my whole life. It's Canada Goose, not Canadian Goose! Branta canadensis in Latin.
Go see the Friday Ark for more critter pics!
I have those honkers all year. I love to watch them land in the water. Their poop also covers the dock year round. Dog thinks its a tasty treat. I dont let her kiss me too often...
ReplyDeleteWhat's that in the middle of your lake? A gator? We have Canada Geese year round here in Kansas City since there are so many bodies of water and so many people feed them bread (a bad thing to feed a goose, actually).
ReplyDeleteThey are quite handsome visitors. How nice that they dropped in to say a beautiful hello.
ReplyDeleteI'm laughing at Pablo's comment because that was the first thing I thought too -- "Gator?" But I'm thinking you're a bit north/inland/uphill for those, mostly.
ReplyDeleteStill, if the neighbors really do get too worrisome...
Aw hell, just send them the geese.
No Way! Honk if you love geese. Geese envy here. Now let's talk about stocking that wonderful fish pond.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking a hundred channel cats, maybe two hundred bluegills, 50 largemouth bass...or we could get creative and stock Macrobrachium rosenbergii for the warmer months.
Aquaculture rules.
What handsome/lovely visitors!
ReplyDeleteYou are so lucky. I saw a sparrow yesterday. Not quite so majestic..
ReplyDeleteI've always had a fondness for Canada Geese- except for spring season when they're raising their young, it's wise to give them a very wide berth. They'll hiss and attack anything that comes their way, but I admire them for their protective instincts. Goslings have a high mortality rate.
ReplyDeleteIt's strange to see photos of unfrozen ponds in February ;)
Jasmine thinks just about any poop is a tasty treat... yuck.
ReplyDeleteThat's not a gator, it's the decoys! Too cold here for gators.
This pond DID have all those fish... until the otters found us. They ate them, every one. Well, almost. But very few are left. (We had one pond with all white catfish too!)
I find Canada Geese very handsome (Sparrows are not bad either!), but very messy too. A pair nested here not long after we moved in. Poor things were just a couple of days from hatching the eggs when something snuck in during the night... Mama and eggs were all gone the next morning. It was so sad. The male called and called for them, looking everywhere... heartbreaking.
These ponds did have some ice on them last year, but they haven't iced completely over since we've lived here.
Some of ours winter over and some don't. But the one's who don't are back- I saw huge flocks of them driving by the river today- perhaps lured by a decptively warm January. Now they are freezing. These guys are dirty and fiesty but I like them anyway. This picture reminded me of how much I liked Winged Migration. Very nice picture here.
ReplyDeleteI like to think those are some of the ones I saw passing through last fall. :)
ReplyDeletehonk honk (reference to floridacracker's comment)
Those are handsome visitors. And so dapperly dressed in grey and black.
ReplyDeleteEvery autumn, my five African geese get this wild urge to fly. Our smallest, Reepicheep, makes it over the fence into the neighbors pasture again and again. I don't know how many times I've climbed over to rescue her and bring her back home.
I'm sure my little domesticated flock would be envious of the flight these marvelous wild geese have!
Their "honking" came first and as I looked up on a cold clear night, a flock of geese, in formation, flew silhouetted against the full moon. A sight I'll never forget.
ReplyDeleteYou have such a beautiful peice of property! I love the geese as well...
ReplyDeleteNice photo really :-)
ReplyDeleteI like birds generally.
About Canada geese:
They usually come in whole big flocks and occupy the beaches and other lawns here in Sweden. That's OK, but they're leaving a lot of big, not so nice traces after them...
It's beginning to be a problem over here actually. We didn't have them in the past, so to start with every one was blaming the dogs... Don't know when they started show up in such a high amount or why.