Geese babies on the Kleinhesseloher lake
The first ones to get new babies were the geese on the Kleinhesseloher lake. The first time I saw them was on 21 April.
Later that day we went around the lake and saw a few more families:
That day there were only a few families but now there are lots of them and the babies keep growing 🙂
Here are some photos from 3 May:
Swan babies at the Japanese Tea House
Last Saturday we were going around in the park and we saw this very aggressive swan on the small lake around the Japanese Tea House island. He kept hissing and chasing the geese around the lake and not allowing them to go into the water. This was quite strange, given that that small lake is usually full of all sorts of birds. When we went a bit around the lake we noticed the reason: on the small island we saw a swan sitting on a nest. Now it made sense!
The geese were a bit unsure what to do. At some point some of them started ‘chatting’ and then they took off and flew over the lake. The swan was a bit annoyed and he went to check on other geese that were staying near the small bridge (on the left side of the photo). They were quiet but when some other geese took off from the right side they also started flying.
Today (3 May) we went back to check on the swans and see if the babies came out. The situation seems unchanged: the male swan still patrolling the lake and the lady swan still sitting on the nest. The swans also had a go at some crows that came too close…
Update 4 May: Went back to check on them. The parents were busy doing some redecorating on and around the nest 🙂 The mother swan was arranging the nest while the father swan was picking some moss from around the nest.
When he was done with the job, the father swan left for getting some food and exercise 🙂 A cheeky crow flew near the nest right after the father left and the mother did not appreciate the intruder very much 🙂
When the person that gave food to the father swan also went to the other side, closer to the mother, she decided to get off the nest, have some food, drink and then got back.
The father seemed much more relaxed than a few days ago. No geese on that side of the water anymore 🙂 No sign of the babies yet…
UPDATE 8 June: Yesterday we went to see what’s the status and we met someone that told us they came out the day before. The mother swan was on the nest and we were not sure if we would be able to see any chick. Eventually, one daring one came out and wobble a bit around on the nest 🙂 This morning I went again to check and the mother was again on the nest. I waited though and she got up when the father swan came back from a tour on the water. They started cleaning and then he took the chicks on the water, followed soon by her. I got some lovely photos.
Ducklings at the Japanese Tea House
While we could not see any swan babies yet, we saw a lovely family of ducks out for a trip. The mother duck was showing the ducklings how to eat stuff off the water 🙂
Geese family at the Japanese Tea House
