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Monday, February 15, 2010

Goosenecking

Generally I don't have much interaction with birds but this goose made it clear that I was getting a little too much into his personal space. Up close these Canada Geese are quite large, muscular creatures. Look at that bow wave he's making. I backed off.A little later I was attracted by a lot of honking, hissing and squabbling out on the lake and caught the sequence below. I don't know whether this is territorial fighting - the leftmost goose had just landed with some friends before undergoing this meeting - or whether it is a mating ritual, or both.

6 comments:

Leeds daily photo - Paul said...

We have them in a nearby park and they can be quite agressive, even when you are an adult. For small children they are like something from a nightmare.
Then I remember that the Romans used geese as watchdogs.

Dean Lewis said...

Great close-up, that first shot.
They say the wings of a Canada Goose are strong enough to break a man's leg. So, be careful there. They could outrun you too.
Last one appears to be an innocent piggy-back form of play.
Sure, that's it :).

JoJo said...

Beautiful shots of the geese! They do scare me though. I don't like to walk near them at all.

Dave Harris said...

Great sequence! Those silly geese!

Benjamin Madison said...

@Paul - Sensible Romans!
@Dean - I think what makes me wonder about this is the fact that there were three geese involved in all this cavorting, honking and necking....
@Dave - yes I think it's spring fever.

Benjamin Madison said...

@Jojo - yes I keep my distance too - the telephoto makes it seem that I am closer than I really was.