Canada Goose Hen & Goslings at Eel Lake, Tugman State Park (+2 insets)

(+2 insets!) (please view large for the most adorable view!)

Bucket List Shots
Do you have an actual list of pictures you hope to take some day? I don't, because it would take a lifetime to list them all! However, when I find them out in the world, I am catapulted star-ward and over the moon!

Steve and I left Harrison Beach a few days ago and arrived at Tugman State Park several hours later. This is one of our favorite spots with its beautiful Eel Lake, skirted by two outstanding trails that we adore.

My first morning I went to the end of the wonderful 1-mile long trail that leads out to a bench on a point where one can sit and enjoy the lovely view. When I arrived, my motion disturbed a family of geese--with BABIES!!!--and I wasn't quick enough to get decent pictures before they were too far away. I stared, cooing and in love, at the fluffy babies and their attentive parents. Maybe I'd see them again, I hoped.

The next day I was all-consumed by macro photography and as luck would have it, didn't see any geese, though I did hear them.

Yesterday though, I took my Sony bridge camera with it's marvelous 600mm zoom lens and crossed my fingers. Soon I got to the park's wide-open meadow with its picnic tables, gazebo and playground. The dock sat peacefully at the edge of the lake and I wandered over to the water to look at the view.

Jackpot!
Just then I spotted motion in the water. OH!!! The goosey family was there!!! And LOOK at how ADORABLE they were! One parent in front, a stream of fluffy babies, and then another parent. They motored along and I had my camera out and clicking away like a fiend.

Then I noticed more movement...ANOTHER FAMILY!! OHHHHHH!!!!! So many chickies! I counted...one, two, three...four, five, six...SEVEN! My lucky number! I moved along with them very quietly and slowly, hoping they wouldn't swim away.

The first family I spotted did swim away, but the second family wasn't worried about me and they swam closer and closer! In fact, the goslings emerged from the water at the boat ramp and walked around, their parents right there to keep an eye out for danger. Conveniently, there was bench and I sat there taking pictures and resisting the urge to coo at them out-loud! :D

They all began to move towards the bank where I was seated and to my delight, up onto the grass scrambled a baby! And then two...three, four! One parent in the water with the other goslings, one on the grass with the adventurous kids; I sat, completely enchanted, and watched the little ones plucking at the grass and running around.

I got to experience this magical scene for about ten minutes before one by one the goslings plopped back into the water, popping up like fluffy yellow corks, and rejoined the other chicks and parent, and the other parent slipped into the water behind them. Off they went and my beaming smile followed them as they cruised away.

"Bucket List: Goslings and family"...COMPLETE! :D Hooray!!! (I have a couple of insets of the babies too! :)

I hope you guys are all doing great!

Explored on 4/24/21; highest placement #1.