Subject: "GEESE" - POTHOLES
Date: Apr 16 02:24:26 2004
From: Eugene Kridler - kridler at olypen.com


Bruce:

Back in ancient Egyptian times (1960-64) when I was the lone refuge
biologist (refuges only had one of these in those days) at Malheur N.W.
Refuge we had a Red-tailed Hawk nest about 30 feet up in a crotch cottonwood
tree in the
P Ranch area one spring. The next Spring a Canada Goose took over the nest.
The third year a Great-horned Owl beat both to the punch and occupied the
nest in February and the other two had to look elsewhere for lodging.

When I was the first refuge manager at the McNary N.W.R. in the TriCities
area in 1954, I used to see Canadas nesting high up in the rimrocks on the
Oregon side of the Columbia. The old saying about expecting the unexpecting.

Getting back to Malheur, I built a number of nest cones out of hardware
cloth and put them up in the low growing (about 10-15 ft. high) willow trees
along the Blitzen River flowing through the Blitzen Valley part of the
refuge. Put a lot of straw and hay in them for starters. Purpose was to
provide nests for Swainson's Hawks. Well, some were taken over by
Great-horned Owls also. Visitors could see the nesting owls and hawks
almost at eye level just across the narrow river bisecting that area of the
refuge. A real treat for birders. Got a couple of good pictures.

Owls would nest in February there, some of the critters partially covered
snow in someyears. Especially the one nesting behind the refuge manager's
house.

Ahh, fond memories, memories. Wonder what the situation is there now.

Gene Kridler
Old (84) retired broken down USFWS biologist/administrator





..
tBhe nestruce Whittington wrote:

> Yes, Canada Geese do nest in trees - often in nests borrowed from other
> species. I recall seeing a goose nest in a low crotch in a cottonwood
> at Malheur (about a meter and a half above the ground) and in the
> adjacent cottonwood, similar situation, was a Great Horned Owl nest. In
> Victoria, Canada Geese have in some years used an Osprey nest high in a
> Doug-fir, finishing up early enough for the Ospreys to move in in April
> or May - avian time-share.
>
> And as a nationalistic aside, did you know you can spell "Canada" with
> only three letters?
>
> C - eh? - N - eh? - D - eh?
>
> Bruce Whittington
> Ladysmith, BC
> mailto: fieldnat at pacificcoast.net
>
> On Friday, April 16, 2004, at 10:14 AM, Anne Seager wrote:
>
> > From the two comments so far, I guess I should assume that it is quite
> > normal for geese of any kind to nest in trees? A straight answer
> > would have been appreciated - along with the humor. There is
> > something new to learn for everyone and I would have thought that this
> > group (to which I am new) would be open to that. Maybe you guys
> > didn't know the answer.
> >
> >
> >