There are several pairs of Canadian Geese down by the creek, but the ones that I've taken under my wing, so to speak, are the couple that live close-by.
I call them George and Martha.
A few weeks ago I noticed some curious behavior; when I offered them some pieces of bread, George hung back and let Martha have her fill before he would accept any.
On another occasion, George was by himself, and after accepting a couple scraps of bread he began vigorously honking. From across the creek I could hear another goose answering his call, and in no time Martha flew down the bank, and swam across the creek to join us.
Of course, I realized, Martha is hatching her eggs.
A little while ago I went searching for her nest. As it happened, she wasn't there at the time, but as I approached it, she saw me from some little distance away, and began furiously honking. She swam to the bank, quickly flew to her nest, and kept flapping and honking at me until I stepped back.
Here's a picture of Martha sitting in her nest. It was snapped from across the creek, so as not to excite her.
