Geese behave much differently than chickens. First, you'll never be able to sneak up on her at night. They can see almost as well as during the day. Second, if by some chance you are able to get close to her, she'll still know that you're there. It will cause all sorts of commotion, scattering both "her" hatched babies and those that you've saved. You'll take the chance that they'll all get lost or chilled. Geese are extremely intelligent, and have social behaviors that are so much more advanced than that of any chicken flock. Probably one of two things happened with this clutch. Either she is an inexperienced mother, and her instincts were satisfied by hatching the first few, even though more were coming, or, two, there were other females who had access to her nest, and they layed after she began setting, so there are actually multiple eggs with varying hatch dates. I have had good luck both ways, introducing newly hatched goslings to a mother even several days after her true brood had hatched, or also introducing young started birds to the group when they were several weeks old. I've even had my flock take in newly hatched babies when there was no female setting. I would introduce them all to the entire flock first thing in the morning when you have a few hours to watch closely that everything is going OK. In most cases it will take only a minute or two before you know if they'll accept or reject them. I've never had well adjusted (non pet) males cause any problems with babies in my flock. The only time that there were issues was when I had too many males, and squabbles between the males who were in the group and those who were kept out have sometimes inadvertently caused problems with young chicks that got caught up in the fighting. Even that has usually worked itself out in a few minutes. All this happens in a pen of almost 3/4 an acre, and I'm sure that plenty of space is a factor in allowing everything to work itself out.

Rachel, Great pics and commentary. It's awfully nice of you to go slogging through the woods to capture these pics while I just sit back & enjoy! For some reason "my" Peewee has not returned for the last 2 years. I miss his plaintive pee-o-wee. They also have a lovely song but I would only hear it very early in the am, usually just before dawn. I saw a young thrasher yesterday with his stubby tail-so cute! Blue birds should fledge over Memorial Day weekend so maybe I'll get to see them. Chickadees fledged already & I'm not sure when the Tree swallows are due. They kept starting & stopping their nest & I lost track of when the eggs were laid! Thanks for the pics, Susan

The original decline in populations of the Kirtland's Warbler was due to loss of the early successional jack pine habitat, through decades of fire suppression, these birds depend on. Fire opens the jack pine's cones causing seeds to come out and germinate after a fire. The young growth of pines that followed is what the Kirtland's Warbler depended on. Once the population of Kirtland's Warblers declined from loss of habitat, added pressures from parasitism of their nests by Brown-headed Cowbirds added to their declining population. So, the Kirtland's Warbler was not on the "brink of extinction" due to cowbirds, but originally was due to loss of habitat that cause their population decline in the first place. In addition to cowbird parasitism the Black-capped Vireo experienced declining populations due to loss of habitat via urbanization, fire exlcusion, grazing, and brush control. The Golden-cheeked Warbler has suffered tremendous habitat loss of its Ashe juniper habitat due to the expansion of the cities of Austin, San Antonio, and Waco. Add to that parasitism by cowbirds, and you get the same story as for the Kirtland's Warbler. These three species, both with normally limited distributions due to extremely narrow habitat requirements, make them susceptible to habitat loss and the added pressures that brings on their populations. The moral here is that other causes, primarily loss of the species primary habitat, are the reasons for the initial decline of these species. Then, the impact of cowbird parasitism is enhanced because the species impacted have such low populations from habitat loss, they can't make up for the loss of parasitism by cowbirds. Thus, wildlife biologists and land managers institute cowbird removal programs within the species last remaining breeding habitats so that populations can more easily recover as new habitat is created to aid in recovery. One should study up on it. And a final note (which has been mentioned on this and other forums) Brown-headed Cowbirds are a protected native species. Any killing of these birds, however deemed "right", is illegal without a permit. If you are going to write about killing them or other species besides starlings, house sparrows, and rock pigeons that are not protected, you should be prepared for people responding to your posts with less than sympathetic views. BN

Why is the subject referring to a fledgling Gyrfalcon? The photos show an adult Red-tailed Hawk. This bird is brown with a buffy underside and has a rufous tail. This rufous tail and its dark irises indicate it's well into adulthood. Gyrfalcons are a white and/or gray arctic-breeding falcon. They are shaped and plumaged much differently from any Buteo hawk, such as this Red-tailed. Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gyrfalcon/id