Wednesday, May 27, 2015

A Short Story From Pipers Lagoon - Nanaimo


Canada Geese family photo credit Sher Falls

A very good friend of mine tells of an interesting encounter with some of nature right here in Nanaimo last night.

While at Piper's Lagoon my photographer friend was pursuing her passion for stalking shadows and stealing light. A blue Heron provided just the subject she was looking for as it stood perfectly still doing what Herons do best - fishing. What caught the photo artists eye was the one loose feather hanging from the Heron, and being as patient as the Heron she prepared to stalk her prey and capture the feather as it fell from the Heron. That is how she sees things and what she will wait patiently to capture.

As the tide turned and the flood began so did the stream of fish the Heron had been waiting for which he proceeded to catch with great skill. As the sun was beginning to set, the feather still firmly in place my photo friend decided to pack it up for the night, when along came five Canada Geese cruising the Lagoon. Knowing that either the Heron or the geese would likely be soon to take flight she decided to wait a bit longer, even though the light was now quickly fading. Sure enough, the geese did take flight rather than continuing to swim past the Heron, who was quite content to continue fishing.

By then the light had all but faded and as she made her way back to the car she spotted something on the surface of the Lagoon headed her way. At first she couldn't make it out but as it drew closer she could she it was one of this year's goslings all by itself. It seemed headed straight for her, so she waited to see what would happen. There was no sign of the gosling's parents anywhere and so that maternal instinct kicked in and she decided to see if she could reunite babe and parents.

She was able to pick up the gosling and cradle it beneath her shirt as she put her camera gear into her car and then proceeded to find the little ones mom and dad who surely could not be that far off. After about thirty minutes of tramping the shore of the Lagoon she sat at the waters edge wondering what to do. Leaving the little one on it's own would surely be a death sentence, yet taking it home was not an option either. Someone witnessing this whole little saga suggested taking it to a vet on Bowen Road. Again not an option either.

After another ten minutes or so, the photo artist spotted a pair of Geese with one gosling in tow cruising the Lagoon headed in her direction. Knowing something of wildlife behaviour she knew if she was holding the gosling trying to take it back to mom and dad, they might get quite agitated with her, and geese can get nasty when upset. So she decided to put the gosling on the ground hoping the geese would spot the young one and be reunited. Sure enough as the gosling waddled across the beach headed towards the water, the parents heard it's little voice and immediately headed to meet their lost charge.

My photo friend breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the happy reunion unfold in the dim light. Her joy was short lived however, as she witnessed the bald eagle swoop down and snatch the gosling the parents had abandoned when they headed for the happy reunion with their lost offspring. True story.




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