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Is it possible Gary returned? Maybe, says wildlife specialist

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Ruminations
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,
By
Mavis Fodness, reporter

Last summer my family unknowingly fostered a Canada goose.
I last wrote about how Gary came to us as a duckling, but as he (or she) grew, it was obvious he was not a duck.
The yellow and gray fuzzy ball developed beautiful gray, white and black feathers, and my husband, Bryan, taught Gary how to fly.
I still smile to think how the flapping of human arms and running around the yard ever taught the goose to fly.
The summer of flying lessons worked, because by October Gary followed the pickup truck down the road, flying eye level with Bryan. He landed a mile away and was never to be seen again.
Or so I thought.
This spring it appears Gary may have returned home. Brief as it may have been.
It was March when hundreds of geese were flying north for the season. I often glanced up at these magnificent birds, wondering if Gary was one of them.
One Saturday morning a pair of geese came flying around the farmyard. They circled around the silos twice. The behavior was a little unusual from what we’ve observed during the dozen years we have lived northeast of Hardwick.
Gary? I thought.
The following day, Bryan returned from chores, signaling me to grab the camera. He thought one of the geese walking on the gravel road was Gary.
At no time ever has a Canada goose ventured so near the farmyard. Yet, here were two adult geese on the gravel road, strutting past the machine shed and house.
Gary.
I am almost sure he was one of the two birds.
One bird gave a quizzical look in response to the calling of his name. The pair didn’t fly away and quietly walked into the ditch and adjoining farm field as I approached, camera in hand. One goose was definitely less afraid than the other. Neither one appeared alarmed as I raised the camera.
I snapped a picture.
The pair calmly continued across the field and I left them alone.
No geese sightings have been experienced since then.
This week I could sense a smile on the other end of the phone as I explained to DNR wildlife specialist Wendy Kruger what I had witnessed. She said she has heard similar tales and was not in the least surprised that Gary would return home.
“They are keyed into where they are born,” she said. “If they are successful at breeding, they will stay.”
At age 1, Gary is too young for breeding and as a “moultie,” he will meet up with other young geese and fly north. On the larger lakes, the geese will spend a month as flightless birds who shed their old feathers and grow new ones. Then they will return to where they were raised. It appears Gary has selected Hardwick as his home.
At this time next year, Gary may be a parent, choosing to raise his (or her) family near us.
I certainly hope so.

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