FRANK
November 14, 2007
(Frank)
We became friends with The Franks in August 2003 when they had two goslings.
Frank's identifying marks are his heart shaped white cheek pattern, his glossy jet black head, his big, muscular built, his habit of running with his body low on the ground like a tank, and his gentle mooing call. Frank is also the first to recognize us, no matter where we are, and no matter how long it's been since he last saw us. It doesn't seem to matter how we dress; he recognizes us, regardless. He swoops toward us with absolutely no hesitation and greets us with a joyous clamor of honks.
(Mrs. Frank)
We were friends with Mrs. Frank for four years when she was Frank's loyal mate and mother to their goslings. Sadly, Frank returned in the spring of 2007 without her.
We used to recognize her by her slight, willowy form and the prominent white rings around her eyes. Mrs. Frank was never as sociable as Frank and she remained nervous even in his presence.
In 2004, The Franks' nest was destroyed during a May snowstorm. They flew to their molting location and returned to the park with their two yearlings in September. One of them had unique black pimples on her right cheek. We named her Black Cheek. Since the autumn of 2004, Black Cheek has been mated with Duce and since we've been following their lives for four years, we've created a page for them. VISIT BLACK CHEEK AND DUCE.
Frank returned March 30, 2007 with another goose, whom we named Francine.
Francine, injured right foot on March 30, 2007
Frank and Francine; March 30, 2007
Francine was injured, bleeding from her right foot. She was also limping badly. Since Frank was with her and they were at least a good half mile down the railroad tracks, making capture extremely difficult, we had to leave her alone and hope for the best. We left them cracked corn and returned the following week. To our surprise, Francine was completely healed a week later. There was nary a trace of her injury and she walked normally. We had hoped that Francine was Frank's daughter and that Mrs. Frank had simply flown off somewhere and would be with Frank when we returned. That was not to be.
Mid-April found Frank doing guard gander duty. During the time we've known The Franks, we've never discovered Mrs. Frank's nest. Now, the same was true about Francine's nest. Therefore, there was no evidence that Francine was nesting but we assumed she was because Frank had assumed his usual guard gander duty at the usual spot.
We were also puzzled that Frank had brought Francine to Mrs. Frank's nest site. From all the books and literature we've read about Canada geese, the gander usually follows his goose to a nest site of her choosing. However, it would not be inconceivable that Francine was probably a very young goose with no established nest site and Frank, being the much more mature gander, brought her back to his established nest site. If Francine was his daughter and not his mate, why would Frank be doing guard gander duty at the nest site?
On May 3, Frank showed up at the park pond, a half mile away from the nest site, with yet another goose as his mate. We named this new goose May.
Frank with another mate; May 3, 2007
Francine was with them but she was clearly no longer Frank's mate. Frank displayed to May when he won a battle with another gander. Francine stood a short distance behind Frank and May and when they took off swimming to the opposite shore, she paddled along about 25 feet behind them. When they were about to reach the opposite shore, she turned around and paddled back toward us, then drifted back and forth in an aimless fashion along the shore.
Thing were confusing enough for us when the goose below showed up at the park May 11.
Hope, May 11 2007
Seen from the front, she bore a striking resemblance to Mrs. Frank (take a look at Mrs. Frank's photos above), from her willowy, slender body, to the length of her black neck (where her black neck ends), her prominent white eye-rings and even the way she carried herself (shyly, hesitatingly). We thought Mrs. Frank had returned and that something had caused a separation and delay between her and Frank. There appeared to be a cut in her right shoulder and we wondered if that had anything to do with their separation.
Hope showed up with an injury to her right shoulder.
Meanwhile, she was utterly alone, hounded by the other geese, and we hoped that Frank would show up and they'd get together again or that she'd find him somehow. About ten days later, she had finally warmed up to us to the point where she remained seated when we walked up to her. We were finally able to capture her side profile on camera. When we compared her white cheek pattern to that of Mrs. Frank, we realized she wasn't Mrs. Frank at all. Therefore, we renamed her Hope because we hoped for a happy ending for her and we also hoped that Mrs. Frank would return.
Frank returns with Hope and another goose. Hope is standing along the shore and Frank is in the foreground.
August 31, 07: Frank returned to the park with Hope and another goose whom we named Tag (he is always tagging along with Frank, Hope, Duce and Black Cheek. We suspect he is one of Frank's kids). Frank appeared to be friendly with Hope, preening and bathing beside her. Hope's shoulder injury had completely healed.
Two days later, Frank was seen with May. They were in extremely high spirits and Frank appeared to be rather agitated, bumping up close to her body, nipping her on her neck. He fought with a couple of ganders, won the fights, and returned to celebrate the victory with May, who responded. Frank appeared to be "showing off" for May.
Frank and May, September 2.
From their "closeness" and May's response to Frank during the triumph ceremony, we assumed May had become Frank's mate until he flew in with Hope the following week! May was nowhere in sight.
Hope was exuberant, brimming over with confidence, feisty in her behavior toward other geese, the complete opposite of her shy, hesitant, skittish self when she was alone. She cackled with Frank, rushed some geese off the grain with him, shared a pile of grain with Frank, nipped at ducks who ventured too close to her and Frank, and appeared confident and secure. Obviously, having a partner was beneficial for Hope.
Frank and Hope (standing) September 2007
We haven't arrived at any answers to Frank's puzzling behavior. We don't know if Hope is Frank's daughter or if she is Mrs. Frank's sister. Hope is very friendly with Duce and Black Cheek, sharing their grain and hanging out with them all the time, which indicates that she is somehow related to them.
Frank, Hope, Duce, Black Cheek and Tag migrated south with about 40 other geese November 14, 2007 , three days before a snowstorm and plummeting temperatures signaled the beginning of winter.
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