Taken To Soon

Pair of broken Goose eggs.

Entry for =pullingcandy contest Death in spring

Was told of a location down by the river where I could go photograph some Pelicans. So during some of my free time I went to this persons property parked and headed down to the river. Her dog (really a very nice dog) escorted me. On our way to the island where the Pelicans are she suddenly bolted across the river to a another island. Next thing I know two geese come flying up honking and squawking like mad. The dog disapeared over a little hill and since I didn't know her name she wouldn't respond to me when I called. So I waded across the river to this island to find her digging and pawing at the ground. Sure enough there was a nest there and she had scattered the eggs about - in the process breaking 3 of the 8 that were there. She responded when I yelled at her to get away from there and told her she was a bad dog. She also listened when I told her to go home.

Wasn't sure what to do... I had recently heard an animal biologist say that the old belief that human contact with a nest or with young would make the parents abandon both was just a myth. So I moved the 5 intact eggs back to the nest took a couple of pictures, waded back across the river and moved a good distance off - found a rock, sat and watched. After about a half an hour or so the parents made thier way back to the nest and from everything I could tell the female went back to sitting on the nest.

1 week later I went back in search of the Pelicans, Dog came with me again, but this time she didn't budge from my side didn't go anywhere I didn't tell her to go (guess she didn't want to get yelled at again or sent home again) I'm happy to report, the pair of Geese were still there and apeared to still be on a nest, and it looks like another pair of geese have set up a nest on the same island. And a little further up the river we found the nesting site of the Pelicans.