I live 1/2 mile south
of the Pere Marquette river. Our township has some public land along the river
where I like to walk. This morning down by the river I saw a dead fish washed up
into the rushes along the edge. A gull wanted the fish and as it came down to
land a Canada goose came out of the dead cattails and chased if off. The goose
then went on into the river on the opposite side from the fish and held its own
in the current directly across from the dead fish. The gull began to dive at the
goose trying to move it away. The gull would come down in attack mode, the goose
would flap its wings and rise up in the water in defense mode and so the two
went at it for about 15 minutes.
I was standing on the boardwalk that was on the
side of the river next to the fish. I moved down to give the gull more room to
work and see if the gull would land in spite of the goose’s standing guard.
Well, when I moved down the walkway, the goose swam over to the dead fish,
climbed up onto the shallows and stood there about 1- 2 feet from the dead fish.
The gull made a few more attacks, then landed on the handrail about 16 feet away
from the goose and the two each stood there staring at each other. I remained
there another 5
min. watching and thought, "this could go on all day." so I went off into the
woods to climb a few high banks and work the legs.
When I came back 1/2 hr later
the gull and goose where still in the exact same positions staring each other
down. I began to LOL- so loud that the gull flew off and the goose went into the
water and then flew off up stream. Standing watch over all this from its perch
on top of a 30 ft. tree sat a crow. "Ah," I said to myself, "when this is all
done, the
crow gets the fish!" I laughed again and headed for home. If the crow is
feasting down by the river right now or not I can't say, but it was something to
see.
"Not all
who wander are lost- but some are- some really, really are." RD in Ludington,
Michigan
