Hello, blog.
We've got quite a large update today. I have a backlog of photos since I haven't posted in 2½ months, so it's time to clean house.
The photography will concentrate on three things: wildlife, flowers, and various city sights.
The geese have mated and are now raising their goslings, and there is much activity in the Waterfowl Sanctuary.
The city has also planted a wide range of flowers in these large concrete flower pots downtown along the streets, many of which I had never seen before, so I've been able to photograph them in vivid detail for the first time. This entry is full of color and life, hope you enjoy.
[click on picture to see full size]
Before we begin, I took this picture back in April right after the sun set. I was able to identify 19 objects in this photograph, including the moon in the top left, Jupiter is a few inches down and right, and in the very bottom right is Venus. The rest are stars, among them Betelgeuse, Sirius, Aldebaran, and many lesser known ones. If you click on the picture and look very closely at the bottom center left, you can just barely make out the 3 stars that make up Orion's Belt.
Now, let's start off with....
WILDLIFE
This male and female mallard were resting a few feet away from the sidewalk. I didn't notice them until I was only a couple feet away. I pulled my phone out of my pocket as quickly and quietly as I could, trying to get some pictures before they moved. Luckily, they were very patient and tolerated me, (although you can tell that the male was ready to move by the way he has lifted his wings from his body) and I was able to get a number of pictures. After I was done, I softly walked away to let them continue their nap together.
A new family swims in the placid waters of Lake Alice. The goslings, about 6 weeks old at this point, are rapidly growing, and will be ready for flight soon. In less than two months, they will be 25 times bigger than they were at birth. Coincidentally, the Canada goose's incubation time is typically 25 days.
The adult male takes the lead with the goslings trailing behind; the adult female swims behind the pack to scan for possible threats. When they are very young, the adults keep them in a tight single file line with traveling, whether it's walking or swimming. You can tell the goslings on the right were born a couple weeks after the ones in the foreground just by their smaller size.
The new family paddles out to join other groups of geese. There is safety in numbers, and geese are very social creatures by nature.
This is the mother goose I was keeping track of. I'd visit the site from a distance every 3-4 days to check on her progress.
The first time I saw her, I was walking down to my normal spot, and as I turned the corner I was completely surprised to see a large goose siting in a nest 10 feet away. She immediately start hissing at me, which is a warning sign to intruders. I snapped a couple pictures then scampered back up the hill.
A week later
Another week later.
About a week before the eggs hatch
Several days after the previous photo, I visited the nest to find the mother defending her brood against these grackles. They hop around the sides of any bodies of water, looking for goose eggs to steal. I later witnessed them systematically exploring the side of a section of river, looking for anything to scavenge.
This took place in late May, right as the geese are leaving their nest with their young. There are always stragglers - eggs that didn't hatch that were abandoned by the mother - and these are the delicacies the grackles are after.
The mother and her newborns left the nest shortly after, but it seems that one didn't hatch, which she abandoned in the nest. All of the eggs usually hatch within the same 24 hour period, so if one is late, the mother prioritizes the others because they need to find food soon after birth. The mother does not eat for the entire 25 day incubation period.
Once the goose leaves the nest with the hatchlings she never returns to it.
Notice how all of the dry straw has been smushed and covered in down feathers by the mother. They put a lot of work into making their nest. I touched my hand to it; it felt incredibly soft.
I decided to inspect the egg in order to photograph it (in accordance with state law, it is acceptable to touch an abandoned goose nest, just not a live one)
I took several pictures of the egg from different sides, then returned it to its nest. It will not be wasted. The grackles will return, unless an otter gets to it first!
A pair of geese raise their young. It's difficult to see, but there are 5-6 newborn goslings at the feet of the goose on the left. They are so young that they still have the yellow fluff they are born with.
The male goose (left) preens as the female feeds.
A female goose slowly walks back towards her mate with her neck bent and head bowed. This is a way of telling him "I know you're the boss." Geese use neck movements to communicate to other geese as a sort of sign language.
The geese love this large patch of grass on the northeast corner of Lake Alice. They come here every Spring to raise their young.
The Waterfowl Sanctuary, on the river, is only about half a mile away from Lake Alice. Once the new goslings are big enough, many will leave the pleasant patch of grass at Lake Alice and walk back over to this area, where they congregate for the remainder of the year alongside the seagulls.
Geese molt their feathers every summer, so for a period of about a month, they are unable to fly because they must wait for their new flight feathers to grow back, as the old ones fall out.
I'm not really sure what's going on in this picture.
I think this is some sort of mating exercise, or maybe they are just holding the position and waiting for the other geese to return. I see this a lot out there, just a line of evenly spaced apart geese standing completely still. They have to share this little territory with the seagulls, and they don't get along particularly well.
Two mallards sit on the water's edge, near seagull territory.
Look at the duck on the left. He is watching me over his shoulder to gauge whether I might be a threat. I was trying to gradually get closer to them to get a better picture, but this was as good as it got. After this, they began to slowly waddle away, so I took the hint and left.
A seagull flaps its wings to take flight.
Between the cattails, a lone duck floats.
The male mallard keeps his bill tucked as if sleeping, but always keeps one eye open. You can tell he is watching me because it appears that he is looking directly into the camera lens.
A male mallard keeps watch as two of his friends sleep.
The rare white egret quietly surveils the lake.
I guess he didn't want company.
May we meet again.
A little alcove my nephew showed me, with all sorts of creepy crawlies.
A blue jay nest?
I found this freshwater pearl mussel shell on the riverbank, near the goose nest. It was almost certainly opened by an otter and the shell discarded. The iridescent pearl layer can be seen on the bottom left.
The outside of the shell. I searched for the other half, but couldn't find it.
A discarded bike on the banks of Lake Alice. One must wonder how the bike ended up that way. It reminds me of the story of the Bicycle in the Tree on Vashon Island, where a bike was left in the woods a hundred years ago, and over time, the tree grew around the bike, lifted it off the ground, and it now remains stuck in tree, seven feet in the air.
George B. Wright Park with freshly planted flowers around the statue of Wright.
***
Moving on to:
FLOWERS & PLANTS
The first dandelion of spring.
Young dandelions grow in a field near the river
Cherry Blossoms
Pansy
Canadian White Violet
Meadow Rue with fresh dewdrops
Poison Ivy
Showy Fly Honeysuckle
True to its name, a bug was attached to it.
Black-eyed susans
Yellow tulips grow into this wire reindeer sculpture
Pink Tulip
(with various other colored tulips in the background)
Grape Hyacinth
Didier's Tulip
Starry False Solomon's Seal
Lilacs
A tiny bug has taken up residence in this blooming lilac.
Common Lilac
Meadow grass
Barberton Daisy
African Daisy
Biden (yes, that is the real name of this flower)
Bluewings
The same bluewing flower from a different angle to demonstrate the richness of its indigo petals and how the color can vary based on the angle and distance you are away from the flower.
Strawflowers
Polka Dot Begonia
Scarlet Sage (salvia coccinea)
Milkweed
Phlox
Marigold
I got a nice refraction effect from the sunlight, highlighting a spider web at the top of the flower.
