Goslings!
| 10 imagesAt the beginning of February, I started a new contract working in the Denver Tech Center. It’s a nice area, lot of open lawns and ponds. Right outside the window in front of my desk is a huge lawn and a couple of ponds where a bunch of ducks and geese come to feed and otherwise lounge around. When I first started working in that office, there must have been several dozen geese grazing through the snow. As winter turned into spring, the number of geese fell, until there were a handful of couples left. A week ago, I noticed two families of geese trailing five goslings each through the now very richly green lawn. In the morning and in the afternoon, little yellow balls of fuzz would waddle their way through the grass, around bushes, and tussle with each other. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to photograph these hilarious little creatures, so I brought in my lens the next day.
I haven’t had many opportunities to photograph baby birds. I’ve had a few opportunities to see them, however usually it’s with mommy duck trailing a chain ducklings behind her out of sight. I headed out on a break when the goslings first showed up. They crossed the street with parents in two, at the crosswalk no less (!!), then headed down the sidewalk. I decided to hide behind the edge of a bus stop hut and take some photos, and the whole troop of goslings ended up waddling right on past me. One adventurous little fella decided to investigate the bus hut and waddled right in front of my feet. To my surprise, the adults didn’t seem to mind my proximity at all, and I was able to follow the group for another 15 minutes or so.
As young as they were, these goslings had a lot of personality, and they already had all their parents behaviors down pat. Eat, lay down, eat some more while laying down, preen, eat some more, take a nap, eat some more. The adults…well, they looked just like human parents…exhausted. 😉
Nature Photography 
Awww… how cute!
They are very cute. The parents are very aggressive when having youngster so I guess you had a great zoom lens 🙂
Cute indeed! I was actually pretty close. I use a 600mm f/4 prime lens, but at one point, a gosling waddled about an inch from my feet, much too close to focus. I think a lot of it has to do with the mannerism you display when around geese and their goslings. The adults were a little wary of me, but they never made a sound, nor attacked or anything like that. After the whole troop walked down the sidewalk past me, I moved up a little, and the parents just hung out, let their goslings run around and spread out, without seeming to care much about my proximity. I eventually followed the whole troop back across the street to the large lawn areas, and the adults seemed comfortable enough with me that they all went to sleep for a bit. 😉 I think as long as you maintain a respectful enough distance, they are ok with you being there.
Hi Jon. That was a great story. I’m very cautious when I approaching but maybe the guests before me were a kind of rude. Dogs and children may be a interesting acquaintance. At least that could be an explanation 🙂
All the best,
Hanna
Absolutely. I actually get a little sad when I see other people around birds. I spend a lot of time at Cherry Creek State Park. I’ve seen people just let their kids and their pets chase after birds without a second thought, and most of the birds there are pretty skittish as a result. And it’s supposed to be an animal sanctuary there… It shows no respect for nature when people do that, and if it’s their kids they are letting do it, it’s teaching their kids to have no respect for nature either. So I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. As a bird and wildlife photographer, I always try to show some respect for the animals I photograph, and they seem to return the favor. 😉 I have an upcoming blog about some deer I photographed recently…the deer in their curiosity, since I showed no aggression, gave me some of the best photographic opportunities I’ve ever had of them. (That should post in a few days here.)
I couldn’t agree more with you. Looking forward to your post,