Living
in the bush allows a person to see things that they otherwise
wouldn't, if they're paying attention. I have a bunch of issues on my
mind right now and a walk often helps me sort some of those things
out. I've been doing a lot of walking lately.
I was
pacing down by the curve in the dirt track we call a road, where the
horses used to be watered in a previous era. I heard an approaching
rustle of wings and an intermittent Canada Goose call. Caught my
attention because the geese usually don't come up by us. They nest
close to the river and the only other place I ever normally see them
is the cornfields in the fall. When the bird winged into view, it
wasn't a Canada goose at all. It was a raven imitating the goose's
call and it was getting a distant answer from the direction of the
river.
Ravens
are very intelligent and I imagine whatever game it was playing must
work. Either eggs or goslings are on the menu. I'm not sure if I was
a raven I'd be willing to mess with a goose. They can put up a heck
of a fight. I had a call centre friend in Ontario who loved to golf.
She swatted one into the bush next to the course and thought she
might be able to find it and play it anyway. She came face to face
with a mother goose with a nest full of golf balls. She decided to
take the penalty.
A short
while after seeing the goose imposter, I saw another raven getting
dive bombed by a couple of smaller black birds. Must not be a lot of
dead things laying around. I'll have to make point of running over a
couple of racoons or something.
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