As if to flaunt the fact that feathers are unique to them, birds use their feathers almost constantly, mostly to fly away from people who are jealous of their featheriness and trying to take some for themselves. Although feathers are durable, all that evasive action takes its toll, and eventually the feathers get all ratty. The edges fray and the fibers don't clump together so well anymore. Birds that get their food from the local sandpaper factory need to replace their feathers constantly, but for most birds, the process happens one or two times a year. Some birds molt into and out of breeding plumage, like renting a tux for prom night. Others look the same before and after, replacing a few worn feathers at a time until they have an all new set.
Ducks and geese undergo "synchronous molting," which is something like going on What Not to Wear, where they throw all your old clothes away into a giant trash can, your closet is empty, and you feel Very Cranky. Geese take about two to three weeks to fill the metaphorical trash can with their old feathers, but you can bet that they are also Very Cranky while it's happening.
Each summer, the number of geese at the lake increases from a few hundred to almost 2,000, according to surveys by the
Lake Merritt Institute. They come seeking to leave their gloppy green poop on our clean sidewalks. Also they need a safe place to hang out while Stacey and Clinton pick out their new outfits for them.
How can you tell if a goose is molting, or how likely it is to hiss at you and make fun of your glasses to hide its insecurity about being flightless? An easy way is to look at the butt. A goose which has shed its primaries will have a fully visible tail, and you can also see a white butt stripe as the goose shakes its booty. Two of the geese in the picture below are of the extra cranky no-primaries variety. The third goose, closest to the camera, has already grown new primaries, and they come to a point above the tail, giving its butt a kind of 1950s pointy Maidenform bra look.
Another way to tell whether a goose's feathers have that not-so-fresh feeling is to look at the color at the edge. A new feather will be uniformly dark; an old feather will have a pale and raggedy edge. You might have to click the picture below to see, but like a well-loved stuffed animal that is about to become Real, this goose has some ratty secondaries (and some new primaries).
Some geese have problems as young birds: their wingbones distort and their feathers grow in all crazy. This disease is optimistically called "
Angel Wing" and is believed to occur when developing youngsters eat too much protein, e.g. Cool Ranch Doritos. Another argument against feeding birds human food...
Such birds are sad to watch, but overall their chances of survival at the lake are probably better than elsewhere--with islands to hide on and entire lawns of grass to eat, it's practically as cushy as a Motel 6.
And, as you'll see in the next post, there's WAY more hanky panky at the lake than in a lousy old motel!
Here's a canada goose for comparison:
1977
1985
And in this photo you can see an entire horde of pintails thronging to be fed.
1920
And a picked clean wishbone:
Ten feet away, the head of the unfortunate pigeon, tossed aside like a candy wrapper.
And if this display of machismo and general shreddingness weren't enough, there was THIS alarming corpse nearby:
The only predatory bird I have seen at the lake is a Cooper's hawk. They definitely pick the feathers off their prey and eat the breast meat, but I have never before seen one rip the wings and head off. And they are not big enough to kill a Canada Goose! That would be like a chihuahua bringing down a sheep! Though I guess one might eat an already-dead goose? I'm thinking that something a little more butch has moved into the neighborhood. A red tail perhaps?
At this phase, just like human teenagers, some embarrasing anatomical secrets are showing--in the picture below you can see the ear opening (which is usually covered over by feathers).
I wouldn't be surprised if their voices cracked too...
This baby is showing off a very sassy wing position. Barbeque sauce sold separately.
Also like human teens, the babies are developing at different rates. This one has a fully grown in tail, but the wing feathers of a child:
...while this baby's tail is still growing in, but the primaries (those not-very-visible white lines on its side) seem to be going strong, and on its face you can see the goose equivalent of peach fuzz--the developing white chinstrap. AWKWARD!
Also like middle schoolers, they hang out in giant cliques.
And sometimes they have to use nature's face-scratcher...
Each summer, the number of geese at the lake increases from a few hundred to almost 2,000, according to surveys by the Lake Merritt Institute. They come seeking to leave their gloppy green poop on our clean sidewalks. Also they need a safe place to hang out while Stacey and Clinton pick out their new outfits for them.
How can you tell if a goose is molting, or how likely it is to hiss at you and make fun of your glasses to hide its insecurity about being flightless? An easy way is to look at the butt. A goose which has shed its primaries will have a fully visible tail, and you can also see a white butt stripe as the goose shakes its booty. Two of the geese in the picture below are of the extra cranky no-primaries variety. The third goose, closest to the camera, has already grown new primaries, and they come to a point above the tail, giving its butt a kind of 1950s pointy Maidenform bra look.
Another way to tell whether a goose's feathers have that not-so-fresh feeling is to look at the color at the edge. A new feather will be uniformly dark; an old feather will have a pale and raggedy edge. You might have to click the picture below to see, but like a well-loved stuffed animal that is about to become Real, this goose has some ratty secondaries (and some new primaries).
Some geese have problems as young birds: their wingbones distort and their feathers grow in all crazy. This disease is optimistically called "Angel Wing" and is believed to occur when developing youngsters eat too much protein, e.g. Cool Ranch Doritos. Another argument against feeding birds human food...
Such birds are sad to watch, but overall their chances of survival at the lake are probably better than elsewhere--with islands to hide on and entire lawns of grass to eat, it's practically as cushy as a Motel 6.
But wait! A THIRD goose is accompanying them as well! Which of these geese is genetically responsible for the babies? Until they make it onto an episode of Goose's Court, where Judge Goosy can require a paternity test, only they will know for sure!
Multiple adults caring for offspring is not uncommon in the bird world. (And in fact, not too long ago I posted about the group of 6-8 geese that seemed to be raising their goslings all together...) Sometimes one of the adults is a pair's child from a previous year. Other times, unrelated adults form cooperative groups. Recent studies that analyze the DNA of the young of supposedly monogamous pairs indicate that having a little something on the side is actually quite common in birds. More than half of a given clutch could be somebody else's! So, it's a strong possibility that this group of goslings are all candidates for My Two Dads. Either way, the young of such a group benefit from the extra Wii games and candy bars provided by a bonus relative.
Domestic-on-wild mallard action! But WAIT. That distinctive green head and yellow beak of the bottom duck signify a mallard--a MALE! Shouldn't he be on top? What's going on here exactly?
We can't know the sex of the white duck for sure, but cases of male-on-male duck action are documented in Blue Ducks and also, believe it or not, in alive-on-dead mallards, so this scenario is not that implausible. Some studies suggest that animals in captivity are more likely to engage in same sex coupling, perhaps as a stress release, possibly due to a shortage of the preferred sex, or because they're bored since they don't have cable in there. Or maybe they just like it that way.
A little wasp nest at the entry to the sensory garden:
The sun was getting low by the time we reached the other side of the lake:
Great blue heron out hunting:
Last time we counted 33 goslings and 8 adults. This time 30 goslings and 6 adults. look at them all in a line!
Here they are grazing happily:
But when they notice people getting too close, they run to mom for safety. "Mom! Hide us under your wing! We want to cuddle!"
"And also we'd like to use your back as a slide!"
"Ugh, seriously. Grass gives us SUCH indigestion. I'm just gonna go smell this flower now. Blech."
Aaaaand Lake Merritt is proud to announce a second family of six tiny ducklings! Each little tail is fluffier than the last!
Can you believe these babies are no bigger than a feather!??!
And the winner of this year's Darwin Award for most successful reproduction in a single event:
Can you count how many goslings this pair has?
