The Raven Cafe

I have two pairs of geese, both of whom have been trying desperately to raise a family. Geese, like so many of us, are controlled by their dna. They lay an egg, sit on it for a while, then cover it with soft moss, twigs, whatever is at hand and go off to eat. They don't sit tight until they have a full nest.

Ravens are very smart, observant birds. They have already started raising a family, and have hungry youngsters to feed. They come sit on branches near the goose nests and wait for their breakfast to be laid, covered and left.

This is one of the goose nests. Those are goose egg shells, all that was left by the ravens. My geese are very upset. My plan was to install dog crates in key locations, set up with shavings and hope the geese would use them and the ravens wouldn't.

Then I noticed that one pair of geese were hanging out by Jesse's shelter and crate, acting all protective.

And looked in to see why. Geese are also bright, observant birds. They decided that a dog crate would be a safe place to raise a family, protected by the dogs as it is.

They are bringing in bits of whatever they can find to substitute for soft moss, sticks and plants. So far, so good. Now that I don't need to set them up a crate, perhaps I'll bring up some moss for egg coverings.