It’s been a tough year for the geese. This old pair raised a whole set of hatchlings, and by fall there was only a single adolescent left.
It’s time to go south, the water is really cold, the nestful didn’t turn out the way they thought it would… it’s sort of a glum moment here, in spite of the brilliant sky, and I hope their migration goes safely. If hunters knew how hard it was to raise goslings amidst the bobcats and coyotes… they’d hold their fire.
It’s unbelievable what wild life goes through do raise their young. Do you remember our pair of ducks at Thompson’s Point, Vermont? Each summer they would swim proudly up and down the shoreline with 12 ducklings in the middle, Then as the summer went on, the group got smaller and smaller until only 3 or 4 were left. The line of them was so short compared to what it had been.
Next hunting season came and men put up their blinds. Everytime I heard those shotguns I shuddered, I never knew if any survived. It’s tough business raising a family.
mum-bear