King Solomon's Ring, written by Nobel Prize laureate Dr Konrad Lorenz is filled with delightful, humorous stories about the animals he befriended. You'll love this book!

 



Canada Geese: Fine Feathered Friends by Pauline E Kelly is sure to delight lovers of Canada geese who enjoy an easy-reading, non-technical book.

 
THE BIGGS
2005 through December 2010

 
BIGG AND MRS BIGG, JUNE 2008
 
     We've been friends with Bigg and his wife for five years. We named him BIGG because of his big bill and big appetite.

     BIGG is also extremely aggressive and demanding, marching right up to us to be hand-fed. Mrs. Bigg is equally aggressive and demanding. They are a lovable, comical couple.
 
     In the summer of 2005 and 2006, The BIGGS were power parents to a gang brood of about 30 or more goslings. I suppose you can say their names are appropriate because they have BIG families as well.

     The Biggs were a major headache for us during the summer of 2006, leading their family beyond the park, crossing busy streets at all hours of the day and night, in search of greens to eat. There was a terrible drought and food was scarce in the park. Even though parent geese do not feed their children, they have to show their goslings sources of food and that's what The Biggs were trying to do. Frantically, we posted geese crossing signs all over the area and thankfully, no mishaps occurred during that hot, dry summer.

     The BIGGs returned in the spring of 2007 with no goslings. After all the headache the "model" parents had given us the previous year, we heaved a sigh of relief that they were not going to spend the summer at the park raising their goslings.

     They returned in 2008 with goslings and of course, they were gang brood parents. They behaved themselves and kept their many kids safe. The BIGGs were real model parents, never getting into any trouble with their big gang brood. They deserved a gold medal for good parenting. The family migrated south November 7, 2008 after a snow and ice storm.

 

May 12, 2009: The BIGGS return

     We were overjoyed to welcome The BIGGS back from the south May 12, 2009. They were with their extended family of eleven and they had no goslings. They recognized us instantly and paddled up to greet us. We have never discovered their nest site and therefore, have no idea what may have transpired after their return to the city. Questions about whether they nested or whether Mrs. Bigg even returned in egg laying condition will remain unanswered but they looked healthy and were in high spirits. We only saw them one more time in early June before they headed north to molt.

     They returned from molt in mid-September 2009 and they`re a permanent fixture at the park. They belong to the greeting party when we visit and Bigg can always be found standing erect before me, asking to be hand fed!

     They migrated south November 11.

2010: We didn`t visit the park much this summer as we were away for most of the time but we are happy to report that The Biggs returned in the fall. They were their usual gregarious selves and they migrated south with Duce and company November 13, a few days before a snow storm.











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