Over the years, I have written several times here about the wild animals I see in the open space to the east of my house and in the pond to the north, both approximately a hundred feet in diameter. But this year is remarkable for the appearance of waterbird families.
A pair of geese showed up something like a month ago. Then, for a week or so, I saw only one goose. Then, all of a sudden, there were two geese and six tiny goslings. When they frolic on land in the open space, the goslings go wherever the parents go, pecking at the ground. But when they are in the water, the goslings line up in a row between the two adults and swim the length of the pond.
In previous years, ducks did not appear in the pond when geese were there. But this year, a family of ducks is here sharing the water. Earlier, ducks showing up on the pond have been Mallards. But this year, it’s a different variety which I was able to tentatively identify only after checking out pictures on the internet. The ducks traversing the pond are either Mandarin or Quora. The female is a quiet color of brown, but the male is a shameless mix of brilliant colors—the only one missing is green. The ducklings are small enough that I can’t tell for sure how many of them there are.
More next time.
Tom Glenn, Writer 