I was in the cottage sitting room writing up a storm, the girls napping all round me, when I heard a strange barking sound. It seemed to be located near our neighbour's property, down by the water. Went onto the porch to see what it was and saw a ginormous Canada goose, sitting in the water not too far from shore, honking like a maniac.
I've never seen a goose in our waters. I was taking his picture, and sensed that he was talking to someone. A minute later, another goose flew in and landed hear him. At which point he stopped honking.
He started swimming towards the little cove to the north of our property, and she followed.
But--unbeknownst to them, or to me, a mallard couple was already in the cove! They were foraging near the spot where the brook empties into the lake.
The male mallard--you can see him on the other side of the neighbour's dock--swam forward to meet the male goose.
The mallard moved in and stared him down.
The goose--many times the larger--backed away. He returned to his mate. After an affronted honk or two, the Canada geese flew away across the Bay.
Having successfully driven them off, the mallard and his mate also flew away.
It was a brief but entertaining episode. I assume the Canada geese were just passing through...perhaps on their way back to Canada? It was nice to see them but we don't want them hanging around.
Haven't yet spotted our loon/s. Wonder who'd win in a Goose v. Loon matchup? Probably the loon. From what I observed, gooses aren't that brave.
In birding news from the Lodge, our orioles are back and feeding at their feeder. No sign yet of the hummingbirds--any minute now. The crazy head-bashing robin wakes us--and the dogs--every single morning. Loud barking ensues.
I will spend part of the afternoon discussing beavers and beaver dams. A topic with which I have considerable interest and not a little experience.
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