Mike Digout has never been a lover of geese from Canada. But his perspective shifted after encountering a fantastic mother goose who looked after a huge family.
Since work from home started, Digout has been taking walks along the Saskatchewan riverbank near his home in Saskatoon and bringing along his camera to capture the wildlife that lives there. That’s where he first met the geese.
“I was out every night walking on the riverbank looking for beavers and, of course, there was a lot of geese activity as they were coming from the south and looking for a place to nest,” Digout told The Dodo. “It got to be quite entertaining to watch the geese fighting over places to nest and protecting their nests.”
Digout saw the first group of goslings hatching in May. “They’re like little tennis balls with legs when they’re small,” Digout added. “So, as I was waiting for the beavers to appear, I started photographing the goslings.”
Digout was sitting by the riverside one night when he noticed a mother goose with an abnormally big number of goslings. The babies began creeping under her feathers to sleep for the night one by one, until he counted 16 fluffy bodies crammed beneath their mother’s protecting wings.
“I was astounded that this mother had 16 children,” Digout said. “I kept coming back every night seeking for this mother and her goslings.” “And it looked like she had a bigger group every day.”
He counted 25 goslings one day, then 30 the next, until he found the mother geese and her partner with 47 kids. Digout discovered that this wonderful mom was caring for goslings from many families. A gang brood is prevalent in urban and suburban regions where there are several nests.
Gang broods are formed when especially patient parents babysit other geese’s children, giving their friends a few nights off.
And it was clear to Digout that this goose mama was made for the job: “It was incredible how calm she was with so many goslings around,” Digout said. “She seems like such a patient mom.”
The group has since divided into three enormous family units, but this supermom and her partner are still responsible for 25 children. They’ll keep them secure until it’s time to head south again.
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