Where the Wild Geese Eat

 

Geese at the Collection Pond
Odenton, MD
April 25, 2026

A pair of geese have claimed the collection pond across the yard. It is a relatively safe place as it is surrounded by a fence which keeps some of the predators at bay. The pair are a bit skittish and do not allow us to get even to the fence before honking and moving away into the water. Geese claim the pond nearly every year. Some years two families of geese find a way to co-exist and I remember one year there were something like 11 goslings and 4 parents coming daily to the pond. 

Gray Treefrog on the Grill
Odenton, MD
April 25, 2026

Watching the variety of wildlife around the collection pond is fun. We were counting turtles earlier in the month and have seen woodchucks and ducks in addition to the geese. I expect to see foxes and deer soon. Earlier in the year we heard the peepers singing to celebrate the arrival of Spring.

I am not sure where this pair is going to nest. They don't usually nest at the pond, but rather come to the pond with after the goslings hatch and teach them to swim while also finding different foods to eat. 

I was surprised by a small Gray Treefrog sleeping between the knobs on the grill, which is on the deck over a story above the ground. I guess it got confused while looking for a tree to enjoy. It was so small that at first I thought it to be dirt or a leaf, but no, it was a treefrog. I left it alone and I'm guessing it departed as the rains began later during the day. 

So where do the wild geese eat? Well you know that: they eat anywhere they want.

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD