Oh yes, they have returned from holiday and she is on the nest again.
The yearly ritual is on again as our Egyptian Goose couple Harry and Sally has returned to nest again. We were expecting them and Marian was one day out with their arrival date.
This time it's different, as the empty house where Sally used to nest is now occupied and she is nesting somewhere else. But they still see our home as their own.
Harry arrives first exactly at 4:30pm in the afternoon to sit on his throne at the top of our roof.
He spends all of the time until early evening waiting for Sally to come in on her evening ritual.
They came down for the normal evening meal and Sally is the loud one at the left in the back, as Marian was refreshing their bucket of water.
As she lands Sally starts to shout and we have to jump to get their food and water. We cannot put it out earlier, as about 20 doves will descend and finish their food.
She ate and bathed and then it was time to go again.
Back on the roof again first to say good night to each other.
And then Sally took off back to her nest.
Harry the warrior will stay until it is dark, checking the area for enemies.
At times some late geese will come flying over and then Harry will fly up to challenge them. He doesn't care about numbers and normally attacks the leader. Last year he limped after a fight and I had a look, but nothing was open or broken on his leg. So I was glad to see that he was walking normal again now.
This is the annual ritual of the geese that we found here when we moved in. An old lady that owned the house died and she must have fed the geese and the squirrels that we inherited when we moved in. We have had many new squirrel babies here and I hope that all of Sally's babies will survive this year, as last year she lost both litters to predators.
So we will wait and see how it goes.
And That's All Friends.
Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon Powershot SX70HS Bridge camera.
