Rödluvan in the snow
Part 5.
The barnacle Goose 1
January 2008
 
I met a new friend. It was a goose. It was snowing that day, I was hidden in my hood :)
I saw this goose with the pond 2008-01-04

2008-01-04. Later I learned it a Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis).

2008-01-04. The new goose and a mallard male.
2008-01-04. The goose and the mallards.
2008-01-04. The goose a was looking at me He was so sweet.
2008-01-04. The goose and a female mallard.
2008-01-04. The goose. But why did not he move? He should have moved because it's to hard for him to be here.
2008-01-04. The goose and the ducks.
2008-01-07. It was snowing heavy now.
2008-01-07. The goose was coming to me when he saw me. I was ready to give food.
2008-01-07. The goose was hungry.
2008-01-07. There were a lot of ducks by the pond and they were faster as the goose to take food.
2008-01-07.  I tried to put the food near the goose. Here a duck took the food. Then the goose went angry and was biting the duck.
2008-01-07. This is a brown duck with a white breast. But it was to dark to see the right colour.
The duck looks like this one. I don't know what kind of duck it is. Taken 2007-10-11. A friend of me think  this duck is a cross breed. Mallards breed with other varieties of ducks.
2008-01-07. The goose was searching for bread crumbs.
2008-01-07. The food was gone but the goose went following me.
2008-01-07. But I showed I should go and the goose went back to his duck friends.
2008-01-07. A man was feeding these ducks.
2008-01-08. The goose came running as soon as he saw me.
2008-01-08. Looking up to me, waiting for bread.
2008-01-08. There was a photographer by the pond today. He took this picture of me feeding the goose and ducks. (He took it with my camera)
2008-01-08.  Me and the goose posing for the camera.
2008-01-08. After it the goose got more food.
2008-01-08. This picture was also taken by the photographer. you can see my leg in the background.
2008-01-08. Now I tried to take some close-up pictures of the goose.
2008-01-08. No, NOT so close! :-)
2008-01-08. That's better.
2008-01-08. The goose talking to a duck.
2008-01-08. A man tried to let the goose eat out of his hand. But the goose dare not to come.
2008-01-08. The man had to throw the bread on the ground instead.
2008-01-09. Many ducks were following me.
2008-01-09. Here the goose came running again.
2008-01-09. The goose was standing on a heap of snow.
2008-01-09. Then suddenly he began to fly.
2008-01-09. Flap, flap, flap! And he run into the side of my hood :-) (no picture of this)
2008-01-09. While I tried to feed the goose, the trousers biting duck was biting in my jeans. LOL :-) I gave him food too.
2008-01-09. On the other side of the pond 2 women were feeding the ducks.
2008-01-09. I walked to the women at the other side. The goose was alone and looked if there were crumbs left on the path.
2008-01-09. A crow was sitting on the ice.
2008-01-09. Somebody came out of the hospital and dropped a lot of bread crumbs on the ground. Then all the duck wanted to be there at the same time.
2008-01-09. The goose also came to the place. But then all the crumbs were gone
In the evening I called a man who owns geese himself. He did adopt this Canada goose. Picture taken summer 2007.

He should go to the pond and look at the goose some day.

 
2008-01-10. The goose came as soon I appeared. He learned that I wanted to help him with food.

All these black spots you see on the picture is grit that they sprinkled out when it was slippery. The grit has been under the snow and appeared again when the snow began to melt.
2008-01-10. The goose learned that he could get the food better if he was standing on the snow wall. The ducks were not as good in walking on walls as the goose.
2008-01-10.  Here the goose was waiting for more food.
2008-01-10. While I was feeding the goose, the trousers biting duck came and the duck went pulling harder and harder on my heans. But it are strong jeans. Of course I gave him some bread too.
2008-01-10. The goose became angry on a female duck and was chasing her. And the goose forgot the smaller bread crumbs you can see here. Silly bird.
2008-01-10. When the female duck did not move, the goose was biting her.
2008-01-10. Suddenly came a worker walking through the park, carrying a ladder and a saw. Then the ducks were scared and "FLAP, FLAP, FLAP!" They all were flying away. But soon they came back
2008-01-10. The temperature was over zero and the ice on the pond went melting. Some of the ducks who had flown away were now sitting on the ice.
2008-01-10. The bread was eaten and I had to go now. The goose was still standing on the snow wall.

On Friday I had time to go to the goose. And after this is should be weekend. I was thinking of him the whole day and saw his face in my thoughts.
2008-01-14. A lot of snow came in the weekend. It looked like a Christmas card outside. I went to the pond again.
2008-01-14. The ducks came in land from the creek when they saw me.
2008-01-14. And the goose came flying to me.
2008-01-14. Time for his lunch again.
2008-01-14. A woman came to the park and now the goose got food both from her and from me.
2008-01-14. My food was eaten. But the ducks saw 2 women also wearing a red coat. And flew to them.
2008-01-14.  Then the goose flew to them too. I was happy the goose learned to take the food faster so the ducks did not take all.
2008-01-14. Here the goose was standing on the wall of snow.
2008-01-14. The goose and 2 mala mallards.
2008-01-14. One of the women took a picture of me and the goose. The goose was posing for the camera.
2008-01-14.  Is not he beautiful?

It was raining in the evening and the snow was melting again. It was VERY slippery and even though I had spike overshoes, it was difficult to walk. I did not go to the pond in some days. But I missed the ducks and the goose.
2008-01-18. The goose was honking when he saw me.

Now the roads were dirty of the grit.
2008-01-18. The goose seemed to say. "Do you have food"
2008-01-18. And I fed the goose
2008-01-18. I walked away a bit. Then the  ducks were following me.
2008-01-18. But why did the goose not come so fast? I saw the goose was limping.
2008-01-18. But the goose was only standing on one leg!
2008-01-18. He seemed to be injured and he put his leg like this. But a friend told this to me. "Geese stand on one foot to conserve energy (body heat) when the ground is very cold".
2008-01-18. Here he also is standing on one leg.
2008-01-18. Another picture of the goose standing on one leg. But I still  was worried because the goose was hobbling (limping)
2008-01-21. When I came to the pond there was a woman feeding the ducks and goose.
2008-01-21. The goose was very often standing on one leg. I only have seen that this goose was standing on his left leg and never on his right leg.
2008-01-21. There were a lot of hungry ducks
2008-01-21. Here he was limping to the bit of bread that the woman dropped.
2008-01-21. After the bread from the women was eaten, I fed the ducks and the goose.

I still had not been in contact with a real expert who could give help.

The man, who owns goose did not call. He probably had not been to thee pond yet. I did not know if he had time to go to the pond. He is living in the country and then have to drive to town.

I called the newspaper if they knew anybody who could look at the geese. The reporter answered that she should try and that I could read in the paper on Monday if they had someone who could take a look at the goose. But they did not write anything about it.

Now I wrote to the local society for the prevention of cruelty to animals. They gave me a telephone number to a very skilled ornithologist.

I called him. There was an answering machine that I should tell my   telephone number. The  ornithologist should never called back.
2008-01-22. A lot of ducks came but no goose.
2008-01-22. I looked out over the pond. Many ducks but no goose.
2008-01-22. I fed a female duck. The male was looking at the feeding and felt rather envious.
2008-01-22. Then I fed the male and then the female was looking at it and was envious.
2008-01-22. The female got the bit of bread.

2008-01-22.  I was looking around again but she could not find the goose.

Then I realized that the goose was gone! I felt so sad.
2008-01-28. In the evening I got a phone call. It was the farmer who owns geese who use to be in the pond at Mariehem in summer. He said. "The goose is alive, he is with me. He had injured his leg but he is better now".

The farmer said he had got my message on the phone from his grandchild. And that another  woman who also had a red coat also had called him and told him that the goose was in bad condition." Then the farmer came and took the goose to his yard. There he gave the goose care and food. The goose was rather lean. I asked the farmer if he know why the goose went injured. He only guessed and said "A bike can have run into the goose. Or a dog can have injured him". We never may know what happened. But now the goose was going to be better. And had a home for the winter.

I felt so happy to hear the goose had a home for the winter. Ihe said I wanted to get in contact with that lady in the red coat who called him. The farmer saved the life of the goose. I felt happy that I and the lady in the red coat called the farmer. Otherwise the goose should have died.

God bless the farmer
I got this key ring from a friend in Spain. Some day the goose will fly free again. Like the one on this key ring.

People asked me if not I could give the goose a name. But I only called him "The goose". And I used that name in this story.
In summer the goose may probably live with  the other goose in  the Mariehem pond. And feel safe on the little island that's on this picture. This picture taken 2007-07-25.
2004-07-09. Some older pictures of the geese that the farmer owns. He takes them with the Mariehem pond in summer. Here they were waiting for I when she came with her bike.
2004-07-09. Feeding the geese.
2004-07-09. The geese went following me. This picture looks so funny  :-)
I will never forget the goose and maybe she some day may see him again. And I'm  sure the goose will not forget her neither.

This story got a happy end.

Photo: Wilhelmina Schedin
Special thanks to the farmer who saved the life of the goose and to the people with the pond who took pictures of me.
Wilhelmina Schedin 2016-03-12