Watching Over

by Mike Lee

Title

Watching Over

Artist

Mike Lee

Medium

Photograph - Digital Photography

Description

Canada geese (some call them Canadian geese) are very devoted parents. Once their clutch is hatched and moving around both parents will diligently guard them, very aggressively at times. At Baum Lake in Shasta County California they do get somewhat accustomed to human traffic as it is a very popular place for trout anglers and the occasional nature photographer. This isn’t to say I recommend trying to walk up to a pair with goslings and try to pet them but they will tolerate a bit closer observation than would be typical at a location less frequented by people. On my first visit of May of 2024 I was pleasantly surprised by just how many baby waterfowl I saw. At that point in the year it’s very common to see a clutch but on this occasion I saw no less than 3 pairs of geese with their clutches and 1 mallard duck hen with its clutch. This parent (its mate was just out of the frame) was good enough to strike a bit of a pose for me in golden morning light as it dutifully watched over the little ones as they foraged in the reeds along the shoreline.

Uploaded

May 9th, 2024

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