On the Road: Geese Nesting and Goslings Everywhere

A recent visitor was directed to the Colvin Run Habitat blog by a Google search of “goose nest.” While we have numerous folks of local and migrating geese fly overhead, geese have never been observed on the ground or nesting in the Habitat. However, geese are known to the Northern Virginia area year round. Nesting geese and their young are common. At least once a summer, I come across the parents leading a line of goslings across a road. These photos were taken by my youngest son – now a law student at Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in Ft. Worth – at the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens about 2 miles from the Colvin Run Habitat as the crow – or in this case the goose – flies.The geese parents created the nest on top of mulch at the base of a tree and at the edge of a large pond. The photos were taken on May 14. The goslings are quiet large and active. While you can see in the last two photos that they were exercising their wings, they clearly lack the feathers required for flight.