When a Pen Loves a Gander . . .

Posted on February 5, 2015 by pelicansrulegullsdrool

Last year, K discovered something amazing: White Rock Lake’s mute swan, Katie, aka Lady Katherine, was mating with a goose called Patches. Willingly mating. Happily mating. In fact, Lady Katherine was usually the aggressor.

K was horrified that a swan would fuck a goose. She ended up deleting the pics she took of Lady Katherine and Patches mating because she was so grossed out. Luckily, I had witnessed a couple of their sexual encounters from last year and got some pics to document that it happened.

I wondered if they would rekindle their relationship this year. While Patches and Lady Katherine were getting it on last year, Patches was mated to a female goose called Annie with whom he socialized and had sexual encounters. Annie and Patches are still together.

Apologies for the blurriness in the thumbnails; goddamned WordPress is STILL compressing and framing my pictures strangely, despite some changes Q made.

Two geese drinking from a puddle at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Annie (left) and Patches (right) drinking together from a puddle on January 23, 2015.

Mute swan (Cygnus olor) walking in the park at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

THE OTHER WOMAN.

On January 13, I was hanging out with Mister Mary Mack by the shore at Sunset Bay. It was cold outside—I’m not sure if the temperature even got to 40. Throughout the afternoon I watched the pelicans fly in and swim to the marshy spit where they loaf on cold days. When there were lulls in the pelican action, I watched the geese. Cutie Pie, the Ross’s goose that joined the goose flock at White Rock Lake, climbed out of the water and preened, and Lady Katherine waddled into the water and swam away.

Ross's goose (Anser rossii) preens at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Cutie Pie is so adorable.

Ross's goose (Anser rossii) scratches herself at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Oh! She’s itchy, too!

Two American white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) squabble on a loafing site at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

When the pelicans loaf on the marshy spit, which is small and narrow, established pelicans often gape and snap at newcomers who have to step through a dense crowd of sleeping and preening pelicans to find a spot for themselves.

American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) arrives at a loafing area at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

After weeks of wandering through the jungle, I happened upon a clearing where I saw the strangest sights . . .

I peered far out into the water.

Goose mating with mute swan (Cygnus olor) at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Yep, that’s a swan with a goose on top of her. And she’s not giving him a piggyback ride.

Settle back, readers, and prepare to bask in the wonders of interspecies copulation. This is HARDCORE birdie action.

Lady Katherine and Patches started mating last year in late winter. At one point in time K saw them mating almost daily. I recorded two instances of their coupling in two days in late March of 2014.

Mute swan (Cygnus olor) and goose engage in pre-copulatory display before mating at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Here Lady Katherine and Patches are engaged in courtship and pre-copulatory displays, respectively. Later incidents from this year are better documented in regard to their flirting.

Goose attempts to mount mute swan (Cygnus olor) at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Lady Katherine plays hard-to-get, surging forward as Patches attempts to mount her.

Goose mounts mute swan (Cygnus olor) and attempts copulatory activity at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Jesus, where the fuck do you focus when this is what you’re seeing?

Well, he’s at least a little closer to, er, sealing the deal.

Is Patches successfully penetrating Lady Katherine? I’m not sure. Sometimes it does not appear to be so, but that’s not surprising; I doubt any bird achieves success every time that sex is attempted. Patches does seem to know that he has to back up much further than he would with another goose, but as you can see in the last pic, he has to negotiate around Lady Katherine’s large tail, which makes the situation more difficult. I have witnessed Lady Katherine engaging in some post-copulatory displays, and I definitely have witnessed Patches in such displays, but I don’t know if geese or swans display after successful copulation or if they do so even after attempted but unsuccessful copulation. A couple of times I saw Patches’s pseudopenis still extended after he disengaged from Lady Katherine, but again, I don’t know whether that means penetration was successful or if he had been preparing for penetration but did not succeed. I don’t remember if Patches displayed after either of the attempts I recorded last year, but I do remember that once Patches dismounted after this attempt, he chomped Lady Katherine’s neck.

They were back at it the next day.

Mute swan (Cygnus olor) and goose engage in courtship/pre-copulatory displays before mating at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Annie, suspicious of Patches’s claim that he and Lady Katherine were just “going for a swim,” decided to follow them.

Goose attempts to mount a mute swan (Cygnus olor) at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

All aboard the S.S. EWWWWWWW!

Goose attempts copulatory activity with mute swan (Cygnus olor) at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Patches? What the fuck are you doing?!

Sadly for Annie, Patches was not yet ready to leave.

The mating sequences from 2015 will be displayed after the cut.

Continue reading →

Ross’s Goose: First-Ever Sighting for Me, December 28, 2014

Posted on December 28, 2014 by pelicansrulegullsdrool

K and I were hanging out at Sunset Bay, near the shore log, at White Rock Lake on Sunday afternoon. We were hoping some pelicans would fly in. The majority of the pelicans that were already there were crowded together in the marshy spit, where all they could do was preen and occasionally jab at each other if another bird annoyed them.

Geese started climbing out of the water. As K and I backed up to make room for them, we noticed a small white bird that was standing on the shore near a group of coots. It was almost entirely white except, like a pelican, for black flight feathers. Its throat was furrowed like Mister Mary Mack’s, which made me think it was a goose. But it was so small! It was only a little larger than a coot.

The bird had a very high-pitched chirp. K wondered it it were a juvenile of some type. I didn’t think so; although the bird was small, it didn’t have the awkward look of some juveniles, like the teenaged White Rock Lake geese.

When the mystery bird went into the water again, it spent most of its time around the geese.

I went home to get Q. I checked my bird books and decided that the bird had to be a Ross’s goose, although the bird I saw seemed smaller than the typical size indicated for a Ross’s goose. But it could be nothing else. Later I read that females tend to be smaller than males.

By the time Q and I returned to Sunset Bay, the Ross’s goose was hovering in the very shallow water right by the shore. When the geese in the water went back onto land to eat grain that had been laid out for them, she went right up there with them. She didn’t seem to be afraid of people—she didn’t seek them out, but their proximity didn’t faze her. She should have been more afraid of the other geese—they kept biting at her, and she had to weave through them to get access to the grain without getting hurt too badly.

The geese migrated back into the water and swam to the land by the dock where the pelicans like to loaf. She joined them, getting up on the dirt and foraging for greens.

Juveniles are supposed to have a stripe around their eye, and she has one that is somewhat faint. So K was right: the goose probably is still a juvenile.

She is probably a migrant and will be gone tomorrow, but Q and I were pleased that we got to see a brand-new bird, for us. Such a cute one, too!

Juvenile female Ross's goose (Chen rossii) relaxing at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Who’s a little cutie-pie? Ross’s goose! That’s who!

Flapping and Fun: October 16, Part 2

Posted on November 29, 2014 by pelicansrulegullsdrool

The Queen of the Log pelican decided that she was willing to share her log with another worthy bird. Unfortunately, that did not reflect well on the pelican snoozing nearby.

American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) and American coot (Fulica americana) stand together on a log at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Meet Rebecca and Svetlana, the stars of TV’s newest blockbuster comedy about a very strange couple that just moved into the neighborhood: Pelican and Coot.

Further out in the bay, two geese had just finished taking turns dipping their heads in the water for foreplay and were ready to get down to business.

Geese attempt to mate at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Hey, what are you doing? I’m supposed to be the one biting you!

Wait, now I’m confused. I thought I was supposed to bite you; you’re not supposed to bite me!

OW! Goddammit, forget this. I’m outta here.

Okay, I’m trying to be outta here.

The male was happy to terminate the mating attempt when he realized he could get a free ride around the bay by letting the female drag him.

The Queen of the Log got bored with her position and decided to move on.

American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) steps off a log to swim at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

I abdicate my position in order to be with my one true love . . . FISHIE!

Two pelicans had been swimming together around the bay, occasionally plunging their heads underwater to hunt for fish. They came across a piece of trash and squabbled over who got to play with it.

The pelican who was unable to get to the trash slowly moved on, and her partner abandoned the trash in order to keep up.

Then the pelican who had tried playing with the trash discovered an even better toy.

American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) plays with a stick at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Oooh! Look what I found!

A brief note about play: Justice Stewart’s aphorism about pornography also works when trying to describe what appears to be object-oriented play among the pelicans. Some instances of play are very obvious, but some are not. Repetition is a good indicator that the pelican is playing, but what about when there is only one incident? In this case, the pelican appeared as though she were purposefully engaging with a useless object, and she had done the same thing with the orange piece of trash just a few minutes before finding the stick. I’ve seen some pelicans, when they are in a playful mood, pick up object after object after object to drop and toss around.

I am Donatello of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Pellies! Check out the awesome moves I can do with my bo!

I WILL SAVE YOU, APRIL O’NEIL!

What, Michelangelo? You think you should be the one to rescue April O’Neil? Fuck you! I will fucking beat you with my bo!

Yeah, you’re scared. That’s right. I know you’re scared.

“Oh no, it’s Donatello from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Pellies! I’ve heard she can take out five Foot Soldiers with one swing!”

Hmmm. This is much more difficult to swing than I thought it would be.

So, Shredder. We meet at last.

Take THAT, fucker! Oh yeah! You’re scared; I know it!

She swam over to where the stick had landed. I thought she was going to look for it, but when her companion started swimming toward her, she abandoned what might have been her search and decided to crown herself Queen of the Log.

American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) jumps onto a log at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Weeeeeeee!

Perhaps inspired by the Queen of the Log’s play behavior, a different pelican picked up a stick, although she didn’t seem very interested in it. That is not atypical for play behavior: nearby pelicans watching the play can get interested enough that they try to pick up nearby objects and manipulate them. Most of the time, like with this bird, they lose interest quickly. But not always.

I went to the shore to see what was going on over there. Several pelicans were trying to figure out a way onto the prime loafing areas without encountering too much resistance.

Four American white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Room for two more? Okay, fine; fuck that other pelican. Room for one more?

Three American white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) stand on a log at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

All right, there, partner: you can stay this time. But next time . . .

I went back to the dock, where a pelican was splashing up a storm as she bathed.

A pelican played with the same bit of trash that a different pelican had found a couple of days earlier.

Another pelican made a mighty leap onto a high-up section of log, got attacked, panicked, and jumped forward off the log into the water. They would have been lovely pictures except I had the exposure set way too dark. Oh well.

American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) swims away after jumping off a log at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

But now that exposure level works okay, doesn’t it, pelicansrulegullsdrool?

A pelican that had been swimming suddenly stopped, stood up, and flapped mightily.

American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) flapping at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

After a stirring performance Tamara was awarded first prize in the “air hula-hoop” contest.

Perhaps she was flapping to psych herself up for a confrontation, because after she sank back into the water she steamed toward the Queen of the Log log.

Out past the Queen of the Log log, Dread Pirate Roberts was bathing vigorously.

Sure enough, the swimming pelican reached the Queen of the Log log, paused, and launched herself into the air.

Two American white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) fight for access to a log at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Holy shit! She just drop-kicked that pelican!

The pelican who was kicked managed to stay on the log.

You drop-kicked the mighty Donatello, then you stepped on her foot? YOU SHALL PAY.

When both of the birds were balanced together on the log, I thought they might settle down and share. I underestimated the original pelican’s dedication to keep the log to herself.

WATCH THIS, APRIL O’NEIL!

I may no longer have my bo, but I am a mighty warrior with the BEAK!

Watching them fight was like watching an arm wrestler slowly but steadily force an opponent’s arm down.

I’m losing? This isn’t right!

The pelican who lost looks like a cranky infant who was just put down into her crib when she still wants to be out playing.

The pelican who lost suddenly decided that she was going to fly somewhere far, far away. Then the pelicans of White Rock Lake would be sorry.

Part 3 will include more flapping, another fight, and much more Dread Pirate Roberts action.

My Goose Friend, Mister Mary Mack

Posted on November 13, 2014 by pelicansrulegullsdrool

The pelicans at the lake have been dealing with the colder weather by huddling together near where the Log of Status used to be, which isn’t very interesting to watch. But I still go to Sunset Bay to check on my goose friend, Mister Mary Mack.

Greylag goose swimming at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Mister Mary Mack swimming on October 30.

Greylag goose (Anser anser) standing in water at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Mister Mary Mack coming to visit me as I sit on the dock on November 9.

Mister Mary Mack is also known as Tiny, but I named him before I learned that he already had a name. He and I used to spend a lot of time in the summer just sitting together. While we were hanging out, he would amuse himself by chewing the hell out of anything of mine that he could get his beak on. Sometimes that would make taking pics very difficult: how can you get an in-focus pic of a wood duck near the shore or a snowy egret hunting nearby while a goose is yanking on your camera strap? Mister Mary Mack got so much enjoyment out of chewing that I couldn’t take things away from him unless they started to fray or snap. Or if it were my hair.

Unfortunately, a lot of people who have seen Mister Mary Mack and me together seem to think that we are performing for their entertainment. Although some people have been very nice and respectful, most have not. Now that the weather is getting colder and there are fewer people at the lake, there is much less bad behavior, which relieves me and makes me feel more comfortable.

Shadow of a human and a goose at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Shadows of Mister Mary Mack and me as we hang out together on November 11. Mister Mary Mack’s shadow looks like a sock puppet: “Hello, pelicansrulegullsdrool! How are you today?”

Mister Mary Mack is a good goose friend. We went through a long period of learning some of each other’s likes and dislikes. If he would startle when I did something, I made sure not to do it again; if I would yell or jerk away when he bit me, he would bite me more gently. Now he mostly just caresses my face with his beak or bites my face very gently when we greet each other. Of course, he is a feral goose, and he could chomp me at any time, but I’m not too worried. I just wish that I understood what some of his calls and gestures meant so I could respond to him better.

Because I should add Q’s perspective, I must emphasize that Mister Mary Mack is a good goose friend to me. Mister Mary Mack is extremely jealous of Q. He won’t let Q get very close to me when he is around and always makes sure that he is physically between Q and me. He has attacked Q twice. The first time, Q said it felt like being attacked by a pair of pliers. He had bruises for weeks.

I have two big fears about the birds at the lake. The first is that people will start trying to feed the pelicans fish and cause the birds to lose their fear of humans. The second is that Mister Mary Mack will be hurt or killed. He has low status among the other geese and is often physically on the edge of the flock. He is a huge bird—a birder once called him a “gentle giant,” which is extremely apt—and I am especially afraid that with the holidays coming, someone will kidnap him and serve him as a main course.

People of Dallas: DO NOT EAT MY FRIEND.

I wonder what Mister Mary Mack’s life was like before he was dumped at the lake. He likes women much more than men—was there a woman who treated him well, wherever he used to be? Or a man who did not? Regardless, I’m glad he’s my goose friend.

Lady Katherine Feeding and a Squabble Between Geese, September 30

Posted on October 2, 2014 by pelicansrulegullsdrool

Katie, aka Lady Katherine, is a female mute swan that showed up at White Rock Lake a little over a year ago. K didn’t think that the name “Katie” suited the swan, so I suggested that we call her Lady Katherine. She’s a lonely bird; she spent most of last fall and winter following the geese around. She had a sexual relationship with a goose called Patches, although their union was not fruitful. K was extremely disturbed by their coupling, and even I was a little squicked out by the cross-species thing. Of course, if two birds of mature age consent to unconventional sexual practices, who am I to condemn them?

A mute swan (Cygnus olor) forages for food at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

Oh my god, Lady Katherine! Have you been foraging near the nuclear power plant?

Now that fall is here, the ganders are ready to start mating. The hens, however, are not as enthusiastic.

Two geese attempt to mate at White Rock Lake in Dallas, TX

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sometimes I wonder whether certain gestures that my goose friend Mister Mary Mack performs in front of me are courting signals. If they are, he has been a gentleman about respecting my boundaries. I am not Lady Katherine; I am only interested in mating with my own species.

The Pelican Can

If it fits in my pouch, I can eat it!

Tag Archives: geese

When a Pen Loves a Gander . . .

Ross’s Goose: First-Ever Sighting for Me, December 28, 2014

Flapping and Fun: October 16, Part 2

My Goose Friend, Mister Mary Mack

Lady Katherine Feeding and a Squabble Between Geese, September 30