Geese are the bullies of the bird world.
I love El Dorado Park, the local slab of green amidst the sprawl of my little corner of SoCal. As parks go it's pretty outstanding: a nature center, lakes, archery, and so many trees.
I visit EDP at least a couple times a week, often more. Because you have to pay to get in (I pony up for an annual pass) it's usually not very busy. I have a nice place tucked away back by one of the lakes that I love to go to read, pray, walk, doodle, smoke an occasional pipe, and just be. Most of the time it's just me, a few fishermen, and some stray walkers.
And the geese.
El Dorado has an amazing collection of birds that call it home. When I first started making it my sanctuary I knew nothing about varieties of birds, other than ducks and gulls. But hanging out at the park for awhile prompted me to visit The Nature Center and purchase a copy of Birds of the Los Angeles region. (I keep it in the glove compartment of my car; the wife calls me a nerd.)
I now recognize and appreciate not just the ducks and the gulls, but also coots, great blue herons, snowy egrets, redtail hawks, and pelicans. (The smaller birds are too hard to see--I need a good pair of binoculars to differentiate them.)
But I'm afraid of the geese.
One of the things I like to do is read a passage out of a book, or a poem. and then take a slow, meditative walk around the lake to let whatever I've read sink in a bit.
The geese have their own little 'hood over on the lawn by one of the bridges and they're very territorial. I mean very territorial. Or maybe they are like dogs and horses and can sense fear? Whatever, whenever I come by things get a little hairy (or is that feathery?)
One of them sees me coming and the neck straightens up and I get a warning honk. This alerts the others and soon all the necks are up, the wings are beginning to flap and--I swear--they look at me like Boy, you'd better not come any closer because we can unleash a world of hurt on you.
I just try not to make eye contact and give them as wide a berth as I can, hoping my deferential manner is enough to keep them from charging.
It's ridiculous, right? I'm 6'8" and weigh 225. I'm pretty sure I could take one of the birds out and have goose for supper if I wanted to. But that's the thing, they've got me outnumbered! I have this terrible image of being pecked (goosed?) to death and my body left by the bridge, a few feathers nearby, as a warning to other walkers.
I am afraid of the geese.
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7 comments:
Talk to Dad about his experiences with geese when they had some on their chicken ranch. He steered clear of them, too. And yet, there's that nursery tale icon "Mother Goose" which conjures memories of lap-time stories and cuddles. Wonder where that came from. It may have had nothing to do with geese, since these were supposedly political satires, still, it's interesting to ponder.
Mom
I totally agree. We have a lake by our house and the ducks are fine but the geese scare me. In fact, did YOU take this picture? Looks a little too close for comfort.
BTW... I'm loving you being on paternity leave and having time for blogging! Good stuff
Have you ever slept on goose down bedding?
That might make you feel like you have the upper hand while you rest comfortably surround by their feathers ONLY!
Tabatha, you make an excellent point. I sleep with a down comforter every night so I guess I do get the last laugh!
Diane. no, that's a stock photo. If I'm ever that close there won't be any pics to document it--I'll be too busy high-stepping it out of there.
Paul
I know exactly how you feel. I go to a small restaurant/hotel in Germany that has a pond. If I walk too close to the water the ole' Gander comes a chargin' across the water, honkin and hissin. I am smart enough to know to back away. I only look stupid.
Ah, yes... I have been seen screaming and running from a goose more than once. I did figure out one way to fend them off though - make a really loud noise-I clapped my flip flops together rather vigorously and that actually got them backing away. I'm not sure what to tell you if you're not wearing flip flops, though...
Paul,
You crack me up. Goose poop sinks too. When I was in college up at Sonoma State, there was a lone wild turkey that often wondered the parking lot. The story goes that it had a mate, however the mate was hit and killed by a car one day. Subsequently the wild turkey had it out for students. Each day I would get out of my car to get to my 8am class, I would typically see the turkey. Most days I successfully made it to my class completely safe. However I was chased it class one day, good thing the turkey couldn't climb stairs. I have to say though I did enjoy watching the turkey go after others.
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