Oh Babies!

I was out doing errands one rainy day last week with my trusty camera in tow.   As I was driving, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted this…

Three little glowing balls.

 

A whole family of Canada Geese!

How cute are they!

“Reproduction

Courting
During the second year of their lives, Canada Geese find a mate. They are monogamous, and most couples stay together all of their lives.^[5] If one is killed, the other may find a new mate. The female lays 3–8 eggs and both parents protect the nest while the eggs incubate, but the female spends more time at the nest than the male. Known egg predators include Arctic Foxes, Northern Raccoons, Red Foxes, large gulls, Common Raven, American Crows and bears. During this incubation period, the adults lose their flight feathers, so they cannot fly until their eggs hatch after 25–28 days.

Adult geese are often seen leading their goslings in a line, usually with one parent at the front, and the other at the back. While protecting their goslings, parents often violently chase away nearby creatures, from small blackbirds to humans that approach, after warning them by giving off a hissing sound. Most of the species that prey on eggs will also take a gosling. Although parents are hostile to unfamiliar geese, they may form groups of a number of goslings and a few adults, called crèches. The offspring enter the fledging stage any time from 6 to 9 weeks of age. They do not leave their parents until after the spring migration, when they return to their birthplace. Once they reach adulthood, Canada Geese are rarely preyed on, but (beyond humans) can be taken by Coyotes, Red Foxes, Gray Wolves, Snowy Owls, Great Horned Owls, Golden Eagles and, most often, Bald Eagles.”

Excerpted from Wikipedia

I found it interesting that the adults lose their flight feathers during the incubation period. 

If you are interested, you can read more here.

Then it was time to go!

What a privilege to spend a few minutes with this little family.

I had seen a few families before but never with my camera so when I spotted them, I had to “pull a U-ee”.  Safely, of course!