Big, Beautiful Birds

They are a sight to see. They come by the hundreds this time of year. They fly overhead about same time each day. If I had to plan an event around their appearance it would be somewhere between 4 and 6 pm. They are loud…so loud that I can hear them honking as they fly overhead even when I’m in my house with the windows closed. When I’m outside, I can also hear the flapping of their wings. It’s a wonderful sound.

They are Canadian Geese. They are beautiful to see in the air and on the water. However, if they are on land, in the yard, or on sidewalks they will leave a horrible mess behind. But at Pond Three, the blacktop path is clear and the hundreds of Canadian Geese land and stay on the water.

Our neighborhood has three ponds (I have affectionately named Pond One, Pond Two and Pond Three) with a walking path around them. A few geese hang out in  the ponds all year…in the spring  it’s fun to watch the goslings as they swim across the water all lined up in a row, in-between mom and dad.

The adults can be very protective of their offspring and hiss loudly if you get too close when they are out of the water and on the edge of the pond. It can be a bit intimidating having very large birds walk toward you hissing.

While on a walk last spring I came upon a women using a cane. I smiled and said hi as I passed her by. Soon after, I came upon two adult geese with their young on the edge of the path. As two adult birds started hissing and walking towards me I stopped to wait for my new path companion so we could walk by the geese together using her cane to wave in front of us for a little protection.

Last evening the rising, full moon was huge as we walked around Pond Three. It was stunning. The pond was already full of geese but more geese kept coming, flying over our heads and landing in the pond…their silhouette in the dusk-colored sky was breathtaking. We stopped in awe for several minutes just to watch the magnificent sight. (I didn’t have my iPhone along for a photo,)

My husband asked the question…do the geese stop at Pond Three because it has open water, or does Pond Three have open water because it attracts hundreds of geese? I don’t know the answer but I do know they are beautiful and strong and noisy…we wondered if they make noise all night long?

Soon the Canadian Geese will be on their way again, flying to southern parts of the United States. They do seem to enjoy this stopover in Northfield and I’m glad.