Ducks and Geese

Today I visited the lake where Mary (Mean Mary) and I left Baby. Baby was the little female duckling from the Big Red Barn video – the duckling that stowed away in the suitcase at the video’s end. She was a full grown duck when we left her at the lake, a lake teaming with waterfowl, so we hoped she’d be okay. We don’t have a pond at our place, just a little pool I’d built for her, and we were afraid it would be inadequate come hot weather. She just loved clean, cool water.

 

The first time we went back to check on her, she was with a family of 13 geese. At that point we searched the entire lake and found only geese – about forty – and not a single duck. But she seemed happy swimming around with this group, so we left her there.

 

I continued to check on her regularly and she was always with the geese. They had totally accepted her and she looked beautiful and healthy. Being solid white, she stood out and was always easy to locate among those droves of grey geese, but I was worried about what would happen if the geese migrated. Some geese do stay year round in Tennessee, but I wasn’t sure these ones would.

 

After the first cold spell, I hurried over to see if she was alone. There she was swimming around with 11 geese. All the other geese had left. One of the geese seemed to be her special friend. Every time she’d veer off a foot or two, it would be right beside her. I hoped maybe this group was going to winter there.

 

A short time later we had another cold spell, a harsher one. I rushed to the lake and didn’t find any birds at first. Finally I saw her – swimming happily around with one very-attentive, grey gander. He’d stayed behind when the rest of the geese flew south, and now he and Baby had the entire lake to themselves. I’ll keep checking on her, but whatever happens now, I’ll always be glad I released her. She’s had eight months to live wild and free!