Hi There. I thought maybe I should let you know I’m on baby watch. Not the human kind, but it’s sort of exciting anyway. We have a nesting Canada Goose at work. I call her Mother Goose.
She built her nest right in front of our building and right next to the handicap ramp. At first we thought she was crazy — that nest seems to be totally unprotected. But, in doing a little research, it seems that Canada Geese prefer to have their nests completely out in the open. It gives them a clear view of any pending danger. (Awww, look, she’s resting her head on the wall.)
Talk about being a devoted mother. I see her several times a day when I’m in the stairwell and she’s never off of that nest. The gestation period for goose eggs is between 24 and 30 days, depending on which source you read. We’re going on week three and she’s faithfully tended that nest through all kinds of crappy weather. I read somewhere that the mother will frequently turn the eggs so that they will properly develop. And sure enough, I hung around by the window one day and caught her turning the eggs. She’s ever so gentle while she turns her head completely upside down to carefully roll the egg. It’s really fun to watch. I zoomed in on one of my pictures and it looks like there might be eight eggs in the nest. Eight! Supposedly they leave the nest within the first 24 hours — I so hope we’ll be able to see them before they’re gone.
Life is precarious for those little goslings though. The first week Mother Goose was on the nest, we saw a hawk flying in circles above her. Probably scoping out a future meal. When her nest was first discovered, rumor had it that the DNR had been called to move her. I think it was just a rumor though, as it’s illegal to disturb nesting migratory birds. Her biggest threat might be those pesky engineers. They’re all too lazy to take the stairs — everyone uses the handicap ramp. She seems to be used to them by now, although, it’s been said that if you stop to look at her she’ll hiss at you. You don’t want to mess with a mother goose. (There goes a smart engineer now — look down, don’t make eye contact.)
And where, you might ask, is the father? We rarely see him. I’m guessing (well, hoping) he might spend a lot of time on the roof (where we can’t see him) watching over her. Occasionally, we spot him patrolling the parking lot. We’ve never seen him up on the grass next to her. Slacker. I always wonder how she eats or goes to the bathroom. It’s really pretty amazing. (Did you notice Father Goose in the parking lot picture? Here, I’ll point him out.)
So, that’s the excitement around here. I know I’ve been fairly absent, but I’ve been plugging away at the Yoyos. Yoyo Count: Yoyos: 135 Me: 733. Netflix, as always, is my yoyo companion. When Upstairs Downstairs ended, I watched Daniel Deronda (fun to see Downton’s Hugh Bonneville in a different role) and then decided I’ll take a BBC break. There seemed to be some blog excitement over the return of Don Draper, so I checked it out and I’m now officially hooked.
Yum-Yum! Off to yoyo now –Yipee — it’s almost the weekend!
XOXO,
Anna
Wow…you are winning the yo yo war. When we first bought our Spring city house there was a duck nest right by the front porch, also out in the open. That mother duck got nasty if anyone got close. Hope we get to see photos of the goslings.
Those yoyo’s are looking good. I love red and white.
We cut a hole in our foundation today so we can install a double French door and get our two letter presses into our basement. There is always an adventure at our house.
That IS exciting. Hope the babies survive and thrive. Keep us posted!
I hope you are there when the goslings emerge! Perhaps you could be appointed to an official position watching out for them!!
i love watching nesting birds too! we had a nest in our backyard a few years ago…on the ground…kids were so into it! zoo opens this weekend, and there are always nesting goose around too. have a great (rainy) day!
I can’t wait to see the babies! We’re on baby watch here too…but with the human kind. My nephew and his wife are expecting a girl at the end of May.
I started watching Mad Men a few weeks ago, I’m about 4 episodes into season 2. I’m amazed what the parents let the kids do in that show!
Mother Goose – ha ha ha! you crack me up!
the cemetery where my parents are buried ALWAYS has fifty (maybe less – it SEEMS like 50 when i’m trying to not step in goose poop) geese wandering around – they don’t seem to EVER migrate – i’ve been visiting there all four seasons for years and years, and those geese are there every time … i’ve never seen a nest, though…
okay goose on nest at work is sooo cool. i used to have a hummingbird nest outside my office at work. it was hard work watching that darling little bird day in and day out! i look out at my beautiful tree outside my window and i see this hummingbird sitting on a branch and i’m thinking to myself “that is one HUGE hummingbird”. then it flies away and the bottom half of my “huge hummingbird” was actually its nest. The nest was no bigger than 1/2 of a walnut shell. one day, we see gardeners out with this tool to CUT THE BRANCHES!! my little friend at work ran out there to tell them they could NOT trim the branches in that tree because there was a bird’s nest in it, and they couldn’t understand her. she blocked them, we called the building, who called someone who called someone else who spoke their language and they left. i would like to point out that they were ROARING with laughter as they walked away. THEN, there was a horrific wind/rain storm. nest blew down. little mother hummingbird REBUILT. and let’s just say that she should have consulted me before the 2nd build. she didn’t. it was in a rather precarious location and didn’t last long AT ALL. then, bless her little fast beating heart, she built for a 3rd time. finally, we see little needle beaks poking out. then, one fine day, a crow sits on the branch, pecks the babies to death and slurps them out. we were pounding on the window trying to scare him off. he didn’t even look up. you have to wonder how anything survives at all.
the end.
oh, and as my reward for the longest comment in the universe, i want to be named recipient of the yoyo quilt in your will. the boys won’t appreciate it and goodness knows i’ll never finish mine!!!
VERY COOL pictures of the mama goose (and dad). I’ll keep my fingers crossed you’re able to get a picture of the babies when they hatch!! Also, your Yoyo’s look great!
Congrats on the yoyo progress and looming victory. Glad we sent you a goose….on a different note the first nations hunting season opened last week – the Arctic and Canadian geese here have a problem a bit further north….when I lived closer to the lake I watched a mother goose establish a nest on the corner of the only street out of the neighbourhood and a major road, by a commuter bus stop and on the kids route to their bus and the only convenience store nearby….how that bird didn’t collapse from stress I haven’t a clue – it is also illegal here to disturb a nesting goose, regardless of where they nest….we have lots of them though, if you need a few more….their migration has changed, seems rather than towards you they now hang around all year flying in circles, pooping on all the soccer fields and my lawn at the cottage….best goose deterrent there? Pink flamingos in the lawn…..
This area has thousands of Canadian geese but I’ve not seen one nesting. They fly over the house in the morning going west and later in the day they fly back over going east. Sometimes when I am walking Maggie they fly overhead so low I can hear the wind noise their wings make. I just love them. Sometimes it’s just a few, other times it is lots and lots. Once in a while there is a straggler and I always encourage him to catch up. Funny thing: they are not to thrilled with the mess they leave on the sidewalks at some of the parks in Denver. So they have small robotic “things” running around to scare the geese away. Go figure!
Well, I sure hope Father Goose brings take-out to exhausted Mother Goose. She can’t cook AND sit on the eggs. ;p
I love Mad Men…nothing is as appears. Better than a detective mystery!
Keep plugging away at my yo-yo quilt…xmas is just around the corner!
Thanks for the nature talk! Ya know, a webcam would be perfect. Get an infrared one so you can see what’s going on at night! ;o) It does seem strange to have a nest right there. Oh well, maybe she is more afraid of hawks then engineers! ;o) Cheers!
I love this post. Canada Geese are so amazing looking to me. I hope you will keep us posted.
And I’m rooting for you on the yoyos! Good for you.
You will most definitely have to keep an eye out for little goslings …. very exciting :-)
We used to have a little ornamental moat around the building I worked in, and ducks took up residence. It worried me tough, because the water was chlorinated which didn’t seem like it could be good for their little duck feet! Hope Mother Goose’s babies hatch safely soon!
How cool to have Mother Goose to watch! I hope you manage to see the babies before they fly the nest. Your yoyo progress is impressive! :o)
I do hope you catch them before the fly away……would love to see them……..
Hope you are able to get some work done while on “baby watch” :) Looking forward to some fun photos when they hatch!
Yay for you and the yo-yos!
You are making good headway on the yoyos! Love that you get to watch Mother Goose. That’s awesome. I tried to rent Upstairs Downstairs, but our shop doesn’t have it! :-(
How fun to see the photos of the geese! Have fun yo yo ing…I might have to look up that series you’re watching…I’m lost without Downton Abbey!
Oh goodness, this post has absolutely brightened my day – my week in fact. Sooooooo lovely!!!
Thank you for sharing and do keep us posted.
Sxx
This IS exciting. I love birds, and really feel it a privilege to watch as they nest, brood and raise their young. Thank you for the cool pictures!
p.s. Wouldn’t you love to see what father goose would do if mama started squawkin’ angrily. I’ve seen goose attacks. ;)
It’s mother goose season in Calgary. The running paths downtown are full of geese nesting (ahem, we actually consider Canada geese vermin here as they are infesting the parks, pooping everywhere, ick, many are no longer leaving for the winter as people feed them and it’s a huge problem). This is the season where running on the pathway is an adventure as the geese nest by the river and they come and attack the runners by trying beek them! Kinda hilarious except if you are the runner who gets beeked!!
We’ve been watching the geese around here and they seem to be confused – like where the heck is the water so we can lay our eggs lol. Seriously they are lined up on the farm fields by us just waiting for that ice to leave the lake. Should be fun for you to watch the Mom while she tends to her eggs and Dad is off whistling “in the broccoli as Mr. Farmhouse has been known to say – well shoot I say the same thing lol. Hey your working hard on your yo yo’s – you go girl :).
I love your Nature Drama! It is so fun to have a peek into the life cycle in nature.
What a good mother goose – I hope you get to see the chicks. How long do they stay with the mother? I love when they get gauwky and awkward after the chick stage.
Fun!
I think Mad Men is going to show a lot of changes this year. Its the 60s after all.
That’s neat but it seems like she’s putting a lot of trust in her human neighbors!
I hope the eggs hatch ok but eight… seems a lot to look after, especially with hawks around. Don’t count too carefully, Anna…
I am amazed she would build a nest right out there, w/ everyone walking by. But how fun for you to able to see her and her babies!! Clarice
Oh very cool! I hope you get to see the babies so that you can share with us. :)
How wonderful! Fingers crossed that all goes well.
What fun to have some “live entertainment” at the office. I hope those eggs don’t hatch over a weekend, so you can take some pictures of the process for us ;). The spot the mother goose chose is indeed very open. Aren’t there any cats or dogs around?
That is so neat to see Anna! And I hope all of them fared well thru the crummy weather we had over the weekend. And I also hope you can get photos of those babies! :)
Nice to have some good entertainment at work. And it looks like Spring might be in your area! I am doing the Hexy thing, probably for ever. Am hooked on BBC Midsomer Murders, Inspector Barnaby always figures out the puzzle. I am on season 8, it goes up to 21 so I have plenty of material for a while.
Ooooh how exciting…baby geese! Hope you get to see them!!
The goose is amazing. And to have that at work is kind of fun. I hope it all works out and you have little goslings. That would be exciting.
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What a fun post! I loved reading about the mother goose. Now I’m excited to see the babies too. And I remember getting too close to a goose one time as a little girl. It ran after me honking and flapping its wings. Not sure what I did to make it so mad, but I avoid them now when I can. They can be pretty aggressive!I hope you get some shots of the babies for us to see. The kids and I had fun watching the Decorah Eagles on UStream a couple of years ago…there are lots of live bird webcams set up so you can watch the action if you don’t have any nesting nearby.
Debbie
Are the babies here yet? I’ve been absent from this space for a bit. Little goslings are soooo cute. We always see a bunch of them in Yellowstone each year. I wonder if she will stick close to the nest after they arrive. How fun would that be?