Springtime is in full bloom here in Southern PA and the baby goslings are the main attraction in the State Park. The Canadian Geese return to their birth place to mate and nest every year - sometimes to the exact site. There is a very low divorce rate among the parents, as these geese mate for life. The female goose selects the nest site (usually near water's edge), builds the nest and incubates the eggs. The male goose guards the nest. The incubation period is 25-28 days while the nesting period is 42-50 days. It is a joy to watch mama and papa goose never leaving each other's side. The male stays close to the nest to keep a watchful eye, but not too close for predators to find.
After the goslings hatch, they remain in the nest for 1-2 days. After that they begin to venture away from the nest for a walk, swim or feeding, remaining with their parents at all times. The young goslings usually stay with their parents for the entire first year of their life.
I had the joy of getting somewhat up close and personal with these gorgeous long-necked feathered creatures. At one point, mama goose hissed at me and ruffled her feathers. I slowly backed away, as I did not want to get goosed! Take a look at my slide show below.
After the goslings hatch, they remain in the nest for 1-2 days. After that they begin to venture away from the nest for a walk, swim or feeding, remaining with their parents at all times. The young goslings usually stay with their parents for the entire first year of their life.
I had the joy of getting somewhat up close and personal with these gorgeous long-necked feathered creatures. At one point, mama goose hissed at me and ruffled her feathers. I slowly backed away, as I did not want to get goosed! Take a look at my slide show below.
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8 comments:
Aw, I saw some little ones on the side of a highway in Philly, too!
What a wonderful slide show! That was fun to watch.
We have a bunch of Muscovy ducklings at the end of the road (and the edge of the sea). I wish I had thought to take photographs and do something like this.
Omg...totally adorable. Lucky you, to be hanging out with these beautiful babies!!
TGIF to you!
Oh how sweet, I am going to stop an take a look at them the next time I come over. Great presentation and photos.
That is a lot of goslings! The slideshow was beautiful!
Great, great pics! There were a lot of goslings in a few of those photos. how cool to be able to see them!
The goslings were so very cute. Lucky you to have them around.
gotta say... not just to be persnickety in the way us pennsyltuckians can be but there's far too many of them durned canadian geese in these parts... and getting to be far too many snow geese, too.
now, tundra swans are a different bird. but they don't nest around these parts. I do try to get over to Middle Creek north of Lancaster every year to see those graceful birds fly thru in early March.
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