Friday, May 23, 2008

   goslings
They know where I live! Haha, I'm half kidding. They kind of do because last summer all my research was at my pond. The Fire Group and the Tabasco Group are hanging around with each other. They showed up at my pond today. Scorch and Char are the two grabbiest of the Fire goslings. They're both lighter in the face so I would guess them to be ganders, but last season all the Fire goslings were light in the face except Soot and he turned out to be the only gander. I could say they're ganders because of the aggression they're already showing, but all Fire goslings are aggressive. They have to be with Attila and Lilith as parents. Speaking of Attila, he attacked a few of the Tabasco goslings. He was doing really well, just kissing and stuff, then he just bit down on one and started shaking it. Fennel and Ember were freaking out but wouldn't get too close so I stood up and walked between the two groups. He's the nastiest gander I've ever seen. His own goslings are afraid of him. And he's not too big. Fennel's bigger than he is. Lilith is actually a little bigger than him. I got a few pictures of him and and the rest of the Fire Group. My computer attached to the printer is being stupid so it'll take awhile to get them up. I got a good one of Scorch. He was sleeping and just suddenly woke up and walked over. Of course, Attila and Lilith didn't like that so I got stuck with Attila a couple feet from me and Lilith staring at me, but it was okay. Smoke is the darkest of the five. And Despite Inferno's name, he's the one that sticks closest to Lilith. Blaze just does whatever. He's cute. He's pretty dark too but not like Smoke is. These five are at the age the Spice Group was last season when I started studying them. It's a good age. They're still young but they're a little more independant and don't listen to their parents as much.

And now about the Tabasco Group. Two seasons really shows up when I'm working with them. Fennel and Ember are always hissing, but it's warning hisses and only a slim few are directed at me. They're mostly directed at the goslings and Attila. Fennel is still very grabby with food. I try to toss it to him because he doesn't care if he gets my fingers or not. Geese have pretty sharp insides to their beaks. I don't mind nibbles, Florcie (Fennel's mother) used to nibble at my toes and she loved pulling my socks. But Fennel just bites down. He's a little greedy with food. He steals it from his own goslings. He bit one on the beak trying to get the bread from it. It shrieked. Ember wasn't too pleased about that. She's the only one he won't steal from. It's drizzling out so after I broke up Attila and his grand-gosling, I was crouching between them. I had to be careful about my balance because the little Tabasco goslings were all around my feet. They still freak out if I put my hand out to feed them, but other than that they're fine with me being there. Ember was getting right in my face to get food. She even looked like she was going to stick her head under my arm to get it off my lap. And she's still so gentle. I like hand-feeding her because she's aware that you're connected to the food and doesn't bite you. Cinnimon is still the darkest of the six. I got a picture of her and Arson. I don't think any of the pictures will come out too great because of the weather, but it's worth a shot. Arson's personality is definately that of a young dominate gander. He'll probably be a nice version of Attila. So, kind of like Fennel's father, Faust, but more aggressive. He'll probably be the first of the Tabasco goslings to eat from my hand, just like Scorch will be the first if this season's Fire goslings, and Ash (Ember's sister) was the first of last season's Fire goslings, and Basil was the first of the Spice Group. He was the first of all of them.

There was a drake in my pond when I was feeding the Fire Group. He kept trying to come closer but once Attila came into view he flew off. Attila is that mean. Very pretty gander, but so nasty.

And there's been a goose in one of the Ashford ponds. The weather's been bad, again, so I haven't gone over. Now that no one is nesting anymore the Spice Group keeps coming back to those ponds randomly. I hope I get to see all of them once before leaving for vacation.
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