Want the Perfect Mate? Find a Goose
The other day, we were geocaching in one the local parks. It was a great day to be out, with plenty of wildlife and birdwatching opportunities. It was as if everyone knew the next day would be cold and rainy.
I observed a pair of Canada geese near the edge of a pond where we were looking for our next geocache. She, assuming it was the she, was sound asleep, with her head tucked in her back feathers. Her mate stood behind her very alert to our presence. It got me thinking. What a perfect mate a goose would make!
Think about it. They mate for life, a refreshing concept in today’s world. The male is a staunch defender of his mate. Heaven forbid an intruder come near her. He’ll be leaving, missing a clump of tail feathers. It doesn’t matter if the intruder is another goose or the dog or a the neighbor kid getting curious. That goose will go after it.
Geese will defend their nest and young as if their life depended on it. I suppose it’s true anyway, at the species level. They hang around together in family groups. No squawking about the weird uncle or the goofy nephew. Everyone gets along.
They’re loyal to their mate and to their nesting area. He doesn’t go out with the boys out on the town. Home is where it’s at. He’s brave. How else can you describe a bird that will venture out in traffic to cross the other side of the road no matter if it’s a dirt road or the expressway?
Yeah, in a world of casual romance, it’s so nice to see that chivalry isn’t dead.
Photo by D.H. Wright
