BABY GEESE

This year we have only 1 family in the wetland in our back yard.  The twins are almost grown now and they are practicing flapping their wings with dad every day.  They have adult feathers already after 3 months but still are vulnerable to predators as they cannot fly.  They still peep rather than honk.  The parents are very devoted to these little guys and they have learned to stick close with mom and dad.  During the day, they camp out on an island in the middle of the wetland.  It has been a very wet June and July so far so there is lots of water in the wetland.  Every day their parents show them how to bathe dipping their heads and tossing water onto their backs.  Then they spend a lot of time preening their feathers before putting their heads under their wings to sleep.  They love the corn I leave for them and are cautious about approaching the feeding area.  They wait until I am at the top of the path to come to the edge of the pond to eat.  This caution is good as humans are probably their worst enemy. I have learned a lot about loyalty and parenting from watching these geese.  They protect their babies with their own lives and are vigilant parents. The mother and the babies eat while dad stands guard.  He grabs a couple mouthfuls and then leads the family to safety on the island. Poor dad is on guard with these little ones for 5 months until they can fly and then the parents have to teach them how to migrate.  Makes human child raising seem easy.