Scrappy for April 2022

 She is channeling the Easter Bunny.  She has a new rug and afghan for this month.  An Easter basket and a large egg on the mantel.  I see I need to change her lights out as they have died. Next week. 

I drew out the camper and have started plotting it all out, so many pieces and I need to find a LOT of orange yarn.  

Worried About the Future Goslings at N2B?

 

North Dakota Game and Fish Department

Canada Geese and Tree Nests

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Canada geese are one of the early nesters in North Dakota. In April, they will select nest sites on islands, the edges of wetlands, and occasionally in trees.

The pair in this photo has chosen an unoccupied bald eagle nest, about 40 feet up in the tree. How do the newly hatched goslings get down from the nest? Climb down? Do the adults carry them in their bill?

It takes very lucky timing to witness the spectacle, but some biologists have described the event when goslings leave the nest. In the mid-1950s on the Flathead Valley of Montana, biologists monitored 77 tree and cliff nests where Canada geese were nesting. Some of these sites were up to 200 feet off the ground.

After all goslings had hatched, the adult geese would fly off the nest to the ground or water and start calling persistently to the goslings. One by one, the goslings would jump off the nest, beat their tiny wings on the descent, and plummet to the ground. Goslings are hardy and while some may lay stunned for a brief moment after crash landing, only one gosling out of those 77 nests was found impaled on a branch.

Has It Been 3 Years Already?

 3 years the Fiber Follies hung the hate crime installation.  Browne's Irish Market was the victim of  a hate crime.  To support them being a knit group at the Irish Center we created this piece.  It took us 9 months and it hung for 3 months.  Later that year we hung hats and scarves on the fence for the homeless.  One of the best moments of my life.  Thanks to all who put in the work to make it happen.

And Here We Go We Are Incubating

 From RRP:

Mother Goose laid her 4th egg on March 28, 2022, at 6:08 PM. She went into full incubation immediately afterwards, which means we expect hatch on or around April 25th.

We've been asked about this a lot, but I wanted to repeat it. Unlike Bald eagles, Canada geese are precocial: capable of moving around and self-feeding shortly after hatch. The goslings will jump from the nest within about 24 hours after hatch begins. The jump is high (about 75'), but the goslings weigh just three to four ounces when they hatch and will be landing on brush and soft earth. Once they land, their parents will corral them and lead them to water: in this case, the hatchery pond or the creek that flows beneath the nest.

Male Canada geese don't incubate, but we've already seen Papa Goose respond to a potential threat by flying into the nest and standing sentry while Mom and DM2 visited nearby. Geese are formidable opponents and we are hopeful that the goose family will get to complete their laying, incubation, and hatching cycle in N2B. 

 

This evening she  laid egg #5, she is going to keep us guessing for a while now. 

We now have 6 eggs.

We also have a couple looking at N1 for a new home.  Should be interesting. 

Eggs, We Have Eggs

 As of this morning there are 4 goose eggs in N2B, the old Decorah Eagle nest.  How many more will she lay?  They are covered with big sticks until she sits on them for hatching.

RRP thinks Mom Decorah has finally laid eggs, so we shall see.  I miss watching them, wish we could have a camera on N3.  

As The Nest Turns will make for an interesting Spring and Summer.

PS the finch eggs on my front porch have not hatched yet but soon. 

18

 My oldest turns 18 today. I best hide the car keys.  Groucho Marx. 

Hey What Are You Doing in My Bed?

 

 

As we all know Mom and DM2 (Decorah Eagles) moved from N2B to N3 where we can not see them.  This is the second season they are not at N2B. 

 

Well apparently a pair of Canadian Geese have found the empty nest and moved in.  The first egg was laid this morning.  Needless to say this will be interesting as Mom and DM2 are often found eating at the  nest. I wonder what will happen.  Eagles are known to eat geese, espcially when they find weak ones.  So stay tuned to see what happens. I know I will be watching.

 

 The gestation period of geese takes about 28 to 30 days after the last egg is laid for geese eggs to hatch. Eggs from larger species of geese may take as long as 35 days. A goose lays eggs early in the morning and may lay eggs for several days before she goes broody. This means that she stops laying and starts to incubate and care for her eggs.

The number of eggs she lays varies. Canadian geese in the wild typically lay four to nine eggs. Other types of geese may lay a clutch of 12 to 15 eggs. While it takes several days for geese to lay the full clutch of eggs, the development of the eggs is stalled until the goose starts incubating the eggs. This helps ensure the eggs develop at the same time, but it can still take one to three days for all of the eggs to hatch after the incubation period.

Scrappy March

 So her hat is a bit large but she is all about the head,so..... It is very hard to get a picture at work cos of the lighting,etc.  But she is all decked out. 

The other day I saw this adorable crocheted little camper.  After much research I found it in a book that is no longer in publication but I got to thinking Scrappy needs a camper, so yes I am going to try and make her one.  And then she needs a vehicle, I found a crocheted Jeep pattern so my projects this year besides monthly outfits is to give her a camper and Jeep.  And she will need a garage to put them in.

I am going to start work on her roof top garden she will start in May.  I need to find a ladder or figure out how to make one.  Anyway stay tuned.  April outfit is done. 

Egg Time

 I have noticed the House Finches around the front porch a lot the past few days.  There is a feeder there but have not so much seen them on the feeder.  I looked out the window to see if it was raining yet and Mom Finch flew off the nest she used the past 2 years.  My first thought was do we have eggs?

Why yes we do.

Garden Came Today

 I love Brussel Sprouts and eat them almost every day.  I decided this year to give them a try to grow them myself.  I got some Oregano, Lavendar, Zinnias, Echnichea, Dill, Fennel, Lettuce, Asters, more milkweed, and some other flowers. I want to up my game with the caterpillars with more milk week, dill and fennel.  My problem is the squirrels, i have to make sure i keep the chili powder on the plants so they won't eat them.

I Miss My Dad

 

Happy 3rd Anniversary Big Boy

 3 years ago today he decided he wanted to come inside and stay.  He is a sweet boy, very onery but loves his big sister Groucho so much.  He is very vocal and so much energy.  I am glad he chose me to take care of him and love him.

Postcards From D27 and D36

 

Thanks for writing, D27 and D36! D27 has moved back into her favorite wintering spot just south of the hatchery, dashing our hopes for a nest in the Spillville area this year. If you visit the cluster map and drill way, way in, you'll be able to see just how much time she's spent in this area in spring, winter, and fall.

D36 has headed a little further south since his last eagle airmail. He's currently spending time on the Iowa River in the Meskwaki Nation Settlement near Tama, Iowa. I'm sure he has plenty of company since the Nation has preserved a lot of land within their borders and it looks like excellent eagle habitat: plenty of low bottomland and a beautiful high upland with cliffs and steep slopes for thermal soaring and night time sheltering.

When can we expect D27 and D36 to head north, and will D27 head north? Our eagles have typically widened their wanderings in March as the weather warms, ice melts, and migratory adult eagles head north for the breeding season. But last year, D36 and D27 didn't really head north until July, and neither one stayed north very long. That wasn't surprising in the case of D27, since older eagles don't tend to wander as much even when they aren't nesting. We were a little surprised by one-year-old D36 and are very curious to see what he does this year.

Thanks for phoning home, eagles. Stay safe and don't forget to write!