Nesting Geese on the Bras d'Or Lake
Tags: Nature
A couple of weeks ago the dogs and I came across a nesting goose as we walked along the beach on Clarke Island. She took flight and paddled around in the water for a long time after we passed by, honking incessantly. Eventually she positioned herself back on the nest to further incubate her 6 eggs. This morning we went back out to the island and again alarmed her, sending her out into the water, this time with her mate, followed by two fluffy, little gray goslings. We looked in the nest and found two empty shells and one yet to hatch. A predator must have gotten the other three eggs - that's half her clutch gone for food to some other creature. I don't mind seeing Canadian geese on the island, that's where they belong, where predators keep their numbers in check. That's a much better place for them than the lakes of office parks and shopping centers.
Terns must also be nesting. As we walked the beach they took flight squawking and squealing in alarm. I wonder if they lay eggs in rock nests along the shoreline like the piping plovers do. That would explain their apparent bird hysteria. The dogs do no harm to the nests, they merely sniff & look. Flyn was going to eat the empty shells that the hatchlings left behind but I told him not to. I don't know if it would do him any harm and so I chose the safe policy - leave it. If in doubt ...
A couple of weeks ago the dogs and I came across a nesting goose as we walked along the beach on Clarke Island. She took flight and paddled around in the water for a long time after we passed by, honking incessantly. Eventually she positioned herself back on the nest to further incubate her 6 eggs. This morning we went back out to the island and again alarmed her, sending her out into the water, this time with her mate, followed by two fluffy, little gray goslings. We looked in the nest and found two empty shells and one yet to hatch. A predator must have gotten the other three eggs - that's half her clutch gone for food to some other creature. I don't mind seeing Canadian geese on the island, that's where they belong, where predators keep their numbers in check. That's a much better place for them than the lakes of office parks and shopping centers.
Terns must also be nesting. As we walked the beach they took flight squawking and squealing in alarm. I wonder if they lay eggs in rock nests along the shoreline like the piping plovers do. That would explain their apparent bird hysteria. The dogs do no harm to the nests, they merely sniff & look. Flyn was going to eat the empty shells that the hatchlings left behind but I told him not to. I don't know if it would do him any harm and so I chose the safe policy - leave it. If in doubt ...