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Magpie Goslings led/sent to pastureAlternate name(s): "Pied Goose", "Black-and-white Goose", "Semi-palmated Goose", "Wild Goose"  Aboriginal name(s): "ngaRuwaRa" [yartwatjali]; "muldrie"Size: 75-100 cm (male), 70-80 cm (female); wing span 1.5-1.6 m Weight: 3 kg (average) |
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We have observed mother Magpie Geese do something that struck us as quite unusual - they either sent or accompanied their chicks out onto open grassland for grazing.
Leading goslings out to pasture
Mum Magpie Goose demonstrating how one harvests grass on a lawn (photo
courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Lake Orr, Robina, Gold Coast, QLD, November 2015]
Yes, right there one finds the youngest shoots (photo courtesy of A.
Ross-Taylor)
[Lake Orr, Robina, Gold Coast, QLD, November 2015]
This is the best stuff - you bend your head under water and then
pull those up - yummy! (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Lake Orr, Robina, Gold Coast, QLD, November 2015]
Let's go - this photographer is getting just a bit too nosy (photo
courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Lake Orr, Robina, Gold Coast, QLD, November 2015]
Sending goslings out to pasture
First a sentry checked out whether the area was secure; at the time
the other mother geese and the goslings were still hiding in tall reeds;
note the presence of other birds going about their business of feeding
undisturbed
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, October 2010]
When the sentry had declared the area safe, the three chicks were
sent out to graze; no adult goose went with them
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, October 2010]
When a pedestrian approached on a nearby walking trail, the sentry
called the chicks back to the water...
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, October 2010]
... before everybody disappeared into the reeds - and thereby safety - again
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, October 2010]
