May 30, 2017. Mostly About a Goose.

May 30, 2017.  Mostly About a Goose.  Not much to write about today, so I've been thinking about my friend, the goose.  We had another chat today as Annie and I finished our late afternoon walk.  I wondered where he came from and where he is going.  Of course, there is no way to know.  But, some generalizations can be drawn from looking about Canada Geese as a species.

Did you know that the oldest known Canada goose lived to be at least 33 years, 3 months?  She was banded in Ohio in 1969.  She was shot in Ontario in 2001.  I wonder how long she would have lived had she not been shot.

Did you know that birds of both sexes tend to choose mates of a similar size?  Biologists call that "assortative mating."  If humans were to exhibit the same tendency, I would have married a girl who was six foot, three inches tall.  I won't mention her weight.  Instead, I got stumpy, aka, Annie.

Did you know that the Canada goose almost became extinct in the early 1900s?  Hunting pressure nearly eliminated them altogether.  I recall reading in James Michener's Chesapeake that geese were killed by the thousands by hunters who shot them at night using a cannon. When I purchased my first hunting license in the early 1970s, the limit on Canada geese was one.  The Canada goose, as a species, has recovered nicely.  In many urban areas, they are considered a nuisance.  In rural areas, farmers use propane cannons, fired at regular intervals, to scare the geese away from their crops.

The solitary goose is still here.  He came close to the shore as we passed by today.  I offered up my horse whistle and he turned his head to look at me.  That was our second conversation.  I expect we'll have another before we leave.  I am beginning to think we will leave before he does.

Goodnight.