LEFTY
November 14, 2007
Lefty
November 14, 2007
Lefty
We first noticed Lefty in the spring of 2006 when he and his mate hung out at the railroad track nesting site. They didn't nest but spent almost all their days around the other nesting and non-nesting geese. Often, young pairs do that so we assumed that The Lefties were between 3-4 years of age. When nesting was over for the other geese, they left the area to head to an unknown molting location.
We decided to name him Lefty because of his gimpy left leg. Lefty is able to get about fairly well and fairly fast. He walks in a sideways fashion with a slight limp.
This year, they were the earliest to begin nesting. They chose a nest at the spot where we used to see them hang out, on the edge of the marsh on the side of the railroad tracks. When Mrs. Lefty was nesting, he was often seen sitting beside her, a very romantic sight, indeed.
The Lefties at their nest, April 2007
We decided to name him Lefty because of his gimpy left leg. Lefty is able to get about fairly well and fairly fast. He walks in a sideways fashion with a slight limp.
This year, they were the earliest to begin nesting. They chose a nest at the spot where we used to see them hang out, on the edge of the marsh on the side of the railroad tracks. When Mrs. Lefty was nesting, he was often seen sitting beside her, a very romantic sight, indeed.
The Lefties at their nest, April 2007
When we visited the nest site on Mother's Day (May 13, 2007), The Lefties were no longer there. We assumed that their goslings had hatched and we kept an eye out for them when we visited other geese at the site. They were nowhere to be seen.
They showed up at the park pond May 18 with a gang brood of 16 goslings ranging from a couple days old to about a week old. Since their goslings were the first to hatch at the nest site, we assumed the three largest were theirs. The next day, The Lefties were running around with zero goslings, then two days later, with eight. They ended up parenting about 40 goslings with two other couples.
The Lefties' brood, May 18 2007
They showed up at the park pond May 18 with a gang brood of 16 goslings ranging from a couple days old to about a week old. Since their goslings were the first to hatch at the nest site, we assumed the three largest were theirs. The next day, The Lefties were running around with zero goslings, then two days later, with eight. They ended up parenting about 40 goslings with two other couples.
The Lefties' brood, May 18 2007
The Lefties continued being gang brood parents all summer. They were excellent parents, remaining in the confines of the park the whole time, keeping themselves and their young charges safe from harm. Every single gosling had to be fairly proficient fliers before they could take them on a grand tour of the city ponds. They finally departed from the park August 9.
NOVEMBER 14, 2007 UPDATE: Lefty and his mate and goslings returned to the park October 22, after an absence of two-and-a-half months. They showed up one more time since then and they have migrated south.
NOVEMBER 14, 2007 UPDATE: Lefty and his mate and goslings returned to the park October 22, after an absence of two-and-a-half months. They showed up one more time since then and they have migrated south.
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