Monday, April 6, 2015

Loosey Goosey

     I got out of the house for a while yesterday afternoon and visited a local watering hole for geese. The ponds in the photos were actually reclaimed gravel pits. Now they make a fairly good wetlands habitat. 

     The geese were quite willing to hang around and pose .





    That's right. These geese are sitting out on the ice. They've been here about three weeks. There is open water about 200 m away on the river where they can feed. Many of these geese will continue north until they land on Arctic islands where they will finally nest.

     There were some smaller geese further out which I think are another form of Canada geese. They have different markings.

      So the ice is very solid and nothing has melted around the edge. I could still skate on this ice.

      This large pond is the reclaimed gravel pit. Islands and points have been constructed to give some variety to the pond. a pair of loons spends each summer here.

42 comments:

  1. With our spring busting out all over, I forget that you northerners are still living in a frozen world.

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  2. It looks cold there, nice photos of your Geese! We might get snow tonight...I am thrilled. I am not shoveling..it can melt:)

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    1. It was a cool windy afternoon. ...and I can tell you you're not done with snow yet. Neither are we done with snow.

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  3. That is looking cold even for a goose.

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  4. Nice shots! I love the view. Very beautiful. Geese makes for really good photographs and they easily comply. Unless they have a nest nearby and you get just a little too close.

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    1. Thanks. Yes, you don't want to accidentally get too close to a nest.

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  5. Nice that something as unattractive as a gravel pit has been transformed into a place for enjoying nature.

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    1. For a large part of the river valley the gavel was taken out and stock piled.

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  6. I'll bet you visit this pond year round to photograph the residents too. It looks quite nice with the islands. Our stream broke up in the middle yesterday, and then we got about 4-5 inches of flurries? last night. Yeah, I know ha,ha, Mother Nature is just teasing us, right. Have a great day.

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    1. I ride by this pond many times in a month. Snow flurries of or 6 in? Surely you jest.

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  7. We've got the same thing here. We had about 3" of snow yesterday.

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    1. You guys are getting the mother of all winters! Oh well, it will get nice!

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  8. Hi Red, Thanks for taking us along on the trip out to the pond. I hope you will give us some more photos when the ice is gone. Have a good day!

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    1. I do make a few trips around this pond at all times of the year so I'll try to get a series of some kind.

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  9. I wonder how they get a little water to drink, when it's frozen over like that. Hopefully there's running water somewhere. They look well fed. :-)

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    1. No problem! Snow! Birds eat snow all winter. Birds bath in snow.

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  10. nice that the wildlife has been able to reclaim these areas (and looky-loos such as yourself, too!)

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    1. It's not nearly back to an original state but better than just left.

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  11. I stepped into the water here chasing a fish. No ice but chilly.

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    1. There's not even water around the edge in this pond. No worries about getting wet.

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  12. For a reclaimed area, it is lovely.

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    1. Much gravel was mined in the river valley and stock piles.

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  13. Red it's so nice to see the Geese once again, there is hope that Spring is finally here... even though I look out the window and see a few flakes of white powder trying to fall to the ground.

    Wishing you a wonderful week!

    Cheers.

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  14. The composition in that first shot is so good I thought it was a painting.

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    1. Thanks. I didn't see that so I had to go back and take a look. Yes, it was alright. You give me something to look for another time.

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  15. You got some great photos of the Canada Goose Red. These are one of my favorite birds.

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    1. Thanks. Canada geese have attitude. They are cocky and very sure that they own the territory.

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  16. Very beautiful pictures Red!! The weather is so hot here that I'm very jealous at the snow!

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    1. Thanks. It's hard to believe that some places are uncomfortably hot.

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  17. They look like real characters. I haven't seen any yet, though they must be migrating north and passing through. The ones that summer here will turn up at some point.

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    1. Ya gotta have geese in Ottawa. Geese own every city.

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  18. It's a good thing they have downy feathers. :)
    I'll take your word for it but I don't think I'd venture out there. The edges don't look as solid to me.

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    1. Nature has it all figured out. Fools are still driving vehicles on ice.

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  19. They really do look like they are posing in that first shot. I think it's great that an old pit has been given back to nature.

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  20. The gees seem to travel a lot and there are indeed different sizes. We have those Nile gees from Egypt for some years here now. Have no idea why they choose a wet cold country instead a warm sunny Egypt. In winter some of them fly away to the south, their homeland? But I see also some staying here.

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  21. Interesting. We have abandoned iron ore mines here which serve a similar purpose for our geese and other waterfowl...:)

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  22. Healthy looking geese I must say. Beautiful takes.

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  23. Oh this takes me back to my childhood in New England, when my father used to point out formations of geese overhead, passing by on their way north or south. Now that I'm Down Under, we are slowly moving toward winter - albeit a semi-tropical winter!.

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  24. Although we see a lot of Canadian geese in Illinois, there are none in Hawaii, of course. My brother and mother were really enthralled with the large birds in Canada.

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