Goslings!

One of the highlights of living at Casa Sammamish is seeing the plethora of wildlife. This year we’ve been watching a nesting pair of Canada geese and their six offspring. The goslings are eating machines. They’ve at least doubled their size in the last week.

Last Friday night there was a panic for the little family. Two of our resident eagles were double-teaming the adults, in an attempt to pick off a gosling or two. Luckily, Papa Goose repelled the raptors, which flew away empty-taloned. The goslings instinctively huddled together to make it more difficult for the eagles to snatch them.

Sunset at Casa Sammamish. The geese are at the bottom of the photo. The goslings are concealed under the wings of Mama, on the left. (Courtesy of Julian.)

in the next week the goslings will lose their cuteness and acquire a more adult shape. Shortly we should also see if our neighborhood eagle couples (Eddie and Edwina, Edgar and Edna) hatch their own progeny. Baby eagles are nowhere near as cute as goslings or ducklings. As my friend Shira says, you can tell birds evolved from reptiles by looking at the hatchlings.

Addendum: Julian took this closeup of Mama Goose and her offspring last night. The remaining two are under her wings.