“God . . . [does] great things and unsearchable; marvelous things without number.”
Job 5:89
Most of us are familiar with the large white geese seen on farms. These are called domestic or tame geese. They are raised for their eggs and to sell to meat markets or as food for the farmer’s family.
But we are going to look at some of the many wild geese in this and the three following articles. While different in some ways, particularly in their coloring, they all have similar habits and patterns of life. They are large birds, often weighing twenty pounds or more and measuring two to three feet from the tip of their beaks to their tail feathers. The wingspans on most of them are six feet or more.
Their lives depend on water. Except when flying, they are swimming or on marshy ground nearby where they make their nests. Usually the females build the nests by themselves, picking spots slightly higher than the swampy surroundings. Their nests are large, made of twigs and coarse grass and lined with a thick cushion of soft down plucked from their feathers.
Usually six to nine large, round, white eggs are laid and incubated by the mother. Sometimes her webbed feet will accidently knock an egg out of the nest and send it rolling. This doesn’t bother her much. When it stops rolling, she stands over it with her back to the nest, and using her big beak, she rolls it backwards to the nest and up and over the side, back where it belongs.
Baby geese, called goslings, are fuzzy balls of yellow down. The first time they get in water, they are right at home and paddle off for a swim. They have waterproof feathers and webbed feet which ensure their water safety. With most varieties the goslings stay with the mother all summer, then travel with her on the fall migration, and stay with her through the following winter season. In this long program, they are sure of excellent training for their adult lives.
Food eaten by these birds includes grass, leaves, roots and seeds, all of which may be found in the water or on adjoining dry land. They also like fish and other water creatures. At times they annoy farmers by getting into their crops. When grazing in fields or open areas, sentinels take turns standing guard along the edges while the others feed.
Geese of each colony usually remain together throughout the year and in migrating. Pairs stay together the year round, and some pairs remain with one another until one of them dies.
They are remarkable examples of the wonders of God’s creation, as a Bible verse tells us: “Thou art worthy, O Lord . . . for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:1111Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:11)).
(to be continued)
ML-10/02/2005