Small Vee II

Of course, just a couple days after posting about not seeing many Canadian Geese here in East Tennessee, we’ll whadda yeah know -

Yup, several dozen milling about in this recently harvested wheat field this morning, which runs along a section of the trail I’ve been walking. 

As I pointed out in my previous post, Small Vee, the “goose grease” is the dead give away that these nuisance pests are nearby and sure enough it was present and covering a large portion of the trail today, gross 🤮!

The more I think about it, I’m guessing here in East Tennessee, these honkers will start appearing more and more as corn fields, soybean fields, wheat fields, etc., are harvested leaving behind oodles of grains for the taking.

I don’t blame them, free eats after all is a good thing. Just would be nice If they’d stay off the walkways, roads and parking lots…

Small Vee

I was slow on the drawn with my camera at capturing these Canadian Geese flying by. I heard them approaching but still didn’t react quick enough.

Perhaps, because I’ve been conditioned with SO many of these honkers back home, where they’re actually more of a nuisance, in my opinion anyway, that I was slow on the draw.

You see them ALL over back home! They’re paired up in the spring in areas where they chose their nesting spots. Pretty much wherever there is some sort of water.

Yes, their gosling are adorable but that cuteness wains as they grow and there are scads of these waterfowl taking over. It’s not the animals per se but the “goose grease” they cover everything with, 🤢! This is problematic at ball fields, parks, businesses, golf courses and public spaces.

This group I captured needs to work on their flying formations. They were in two groups with one kinda in a vee but the other not even close -

Seems I recall, back when I was a youte, these critters were seldom seen and when you did see them they were typically flying overhead and in tight vee formation! They were on the brink of extinction at one point in time, however, conservation programs successfully brought them back.

They don’t have many real predators to keep them in check; yes, coyotes and foxes, which is one reason why there numbers have exploded.

They’re still federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which is one reason why there are millions of these bird and why you see them everywhere.

They don’t seem to be as invasive here in East Tennessee, as I can count on one hand how many times I’ve seen them since being here. Maybe I’ll appreciate them more by having less encounters with them but they definitely need to work on their flying formations first.

Gonna Need A Bigger Pen

Ms. Alyssa, whadda yeah think?!?

Saddleback Pomeranian Geese.

I'm thinking a pair of these would look great in your backyard!

Tell your dad to get to work on building another pen...

Skein or V Formation

 

Here is a flock of Canadian Geese that flew over the house the other afternoon. If I was quicker I might have been able to get a better picture without the tree top obscuring the birds but this is the best I could do.

 

Anyway, this is a sorry excuse for the V formation these birds are known for.  Perhaps, it's a sign of the times, like kids today's, they're too lazy and can't be bothered.

Soaking Up The Sun, Ahhh

These critters were also enjoying Boston's beautiful day. They've chosen the lake in the Public Garden to reside, along with the famous swan boats. A pair of Canadian geese, a couple of painted turtles and a couple of red-eared slider turtles just relaxing and taking in all the visitors from a safe location.