Mother Goose

A pair of Canada Geese welcome their new babies, goslings, at Lagarde Park pond, just next door to the Anniston Museums and Gardens. If you frequent this area, you may have noticed momma goose sitting atop a nest made of branches and feathers on the little island within the pond, with the male goose standing guard close by. For a month, mother goose incubated her eggs without leaving to feed, drink, or bathe herself. Geese are excellent parents, some of the best in the bird world. Both female and male birds actively participate in brood care by protecting against predators and demonstrating how to find food. Mother goose will keep them warm under her wings until they can produce enough heat on their own. Male goslings will stay with their parents for a year, and females up to three years until they leave for a family of their own. The behaviors of a goose family are surely entertaining as the bumbling goslings learn the ways of the world while mom and dad correct and corral them about. If you plan to observe this feathered family, watch from a distance. Geese are known to be aggressive toward anything that strays too near, including dogs and humans. During the capturing of this moment, the dad in lead was fixated on the photographer, exhibiting head bobs as a warning sign to “keep your distance.”