Sights and sounds

I have been paying attention to all the sights and  sounds that I will leave behind in two weeks: the squeak and clank of the gate into the Duckery; the nasal honk of the magpie goose and trumpeter swans in the Field; the Brent's ganders who have a honk-fest whenever someone approaches the breeding pen they share with two black-duck couples and a pair of hooded mergansers.

The Brent's ganders have gotten more aggressive in the last week now that their ladies are beginning to sit.Two or three come at me, bills open and their slender, pink tongues vibrating. When I get to the farthest food dish (nearest one nest)  they are so upset that they jab at my Wellies and nip at where my trousers tuck into my boots. Poor guys, as short as they are that's as high as they can reach, and despite their sincere efforts to protected their nests my greatest danger is not from their attacks, but from tripping when trying to avoid stepping on them!

What a contrast to the silent ashy-headed gander who looks up at me with concern and wonder when I go into the breeding pool that he shares with several other species. His lady has been sitting in a clump of sedge a few feet away for a few weeks now. I wonder what he makes of me towering over him.

The Abyssinian blue-winged geese chatter and posture as I pass or enter their pen, full of threats, heads lifted and chests puffed out. The Magellan gander does the same, protecting his mate who is laying. I hear his calls from the Left-hand Poly Tunnel when I come through the gate into the Field. He is such a proud papa with is chest puffed out and head thrown back as he proclaims his sovereignty.

I have seen the adolescent male Japanese crane dancing and playing with a short piece of straw. What elegant long legs and movements! Later I caught this reflect of his female consort drinking from the canal that runs through their pen.

So many sights and sounds that I may never see or hear again.  I am grateful to have this amazing opportunity to be here!