Put this together a while back...nothing very dramatic (well maybe it was for them), photos not great, very common bird and all, but I liked the moment. And we have no bucket yet today, so -
The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group. It is a place to note any observations you have made of the world around you. Rain, sun, wind...insects, birds, flowers...meteorites, rocks...seasonal changes...all are worthy additions to the bucket. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us.
May 12, 2015
Fisherman Bay
Salish Sea, PNW
I was passing by looking for some ducks that had been reported on eBird - no luck on that. But I did see some Canada goose activity. I'm not sure how long the geese had been in the marsh grasses, but when I saw them, two families were moving off the drying pools and into the bay. The first family was off and away but 2 goslings from the second couldn't get out of the pool they'd been in. The parents and 2 other goslings kept going. Quacking by the adults and cheeping by the babies trapped in the pool. Could they get out?
The rest of the family moved off onto the flat.
(Fuzzy fotos, they were quite a ways off. Lightboxed for slightly better resolution anyway)
Frantic cheeping and swimming back and forth by the two left behind, scrambling here and there. After a tense few minutes (for me anyway - there are eagles in this area and that would be a quick end to a lone gosling), one got out and the other followed. They both ran full speed for the family.
Happy reunion! Last I saw they had all stepped off the mud and were swimming away in the water.
Gosling season in the islands.
~
All nature observations welcome in the comments.
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