Nesting Goose Update 3 - Soaked

We had a huge rainstorm last night. I knew there would be considerable flooding at any of the nature parks. I've seen how it can get when it's been raining hard, and whole stretches of these places become inaccessible.

One of the first things I thought of was that I had to go over to see how the nesting goose got through this. I was sure she and the other animals would be fine, but I still had to find out for myself. Besides, those eggs should be hatching very soon now. Maybe even today!

When I got there I could see that the whole place was flooded. The water level was up above the lake viewing area by the dam. As I got close, I could see the nesting goose looking out at the water. I was relieved to see that she was alert and well.

When I walked up and looked at her through the bars though, she looked completely soaked. At least she made it through the storm in one piece. I wondered why she hadn't gotten up to shake herself off. Maybe she didn't want to get any water on the eggs.

Here's a closer look at her. The poor thing looks like a plucked turkey. Her feathers are matted down, but she does look alert and healthy still. That's a really good sign. Maybe an afternoon in the sun will fluff her back up to her old self.

Take a look at this picture and the last one. You would think that because her feathers are wet and matted down, she would look smaller. She actually looks more spread out over the nest than she usually does. She must be doing it on purpose.

Maybe she's protecting the eggs from all of the water. Still, she looks really strange sitting there like that. I examined her as close and for as long as I could. I didn't see any movement under her. I don't know if I would see any if they were hatched anyway. She should be getting very close to hatching these babies. It should be any day now.

As predicted, there's her mate back there on the dam. He's sticking very close to her, as he always does. He looks really wet too. A few seconds ago he was shaking himself off. I don't know if it's because of the storm or it's because of the swim he just took. Usually they don't get this wet from swimming.

I've been watching her every day, and I will continue to do so. It should all happen any day now, unless she's hiding them from me already. I'll probably be back tomorrow with a post showing the flooding around this dam. It's very cool. We'll also get another look at the geese too. See you then!