Goslings at Black Creek
smythe park - june 4, 2022
The first time I took in Smythe Park was walking the dog with my mom. But it was clearly a place I wanted to come back with a camera. She told me about lines of turtles sunning themselves in ponds. We saw a big family of geese with juveniles and newborn goslings. And we came across two red-winged blackbird fledglings on the ground. One seemed relatively OK. The other was still alive, but barely.
My mercenary brain fought my compassion. I had an episode on fledglings that I was coming up short on with footage. But we wanted to get these birds off the ground and somewhere safer as soon as we could.
In the end I split the difference, carrying them to a stable spot at a nearby tree while their parents shrieked at me - a good sign they were aware. Then I shot what I could with my phone while not disturbing the chicks any more than I already had.
The next day the livelier fledgling was gone, while the nearly-dead one was now definitely dead. I hoped for the best. I convinced myself that a predator would have scarfed down both, so one being gone maybe pointed to them having flown away? Maybe?
The rest of the day was productive and relaxing. I hung out with the goose family, watched them get swooped at by more red-winged blackbirds, saw some wood ducks, and eventually even got what I’d come for: turtles crawling up onto logs to sun themselves. I even caught a snapping turtle in one of the ponds, though deep in the weeds and not feeling photogenic.
It was also an excuse to just sit by the edge of the pond and take it all in for an hour or two, which I desperately needed. I only left when the place got crowded enough that I was answering more questions than I was getting footage.