Playing hard to get - Story of Lucy the Canada Goose

It was a Sunday afternoon in Mid-May when we first discovered the two additional Canada Geese in our pond. At first we thought that Lucy had attracted a friend, but upon closer examination, we realized that there were three Canada Geese in the pond, Lucy and another pair. Since Lucy has never seen herself, she had no clue that they were relatives. To her they were the biggest and funniest looking ducks she had ever seen. The pair didn't care for Lucy either. They hissed at her, but all in all they all coexisted in the pond. These two geese would show up in the morning, enjoy some free meals then leave each evening.

One day we heard quite a racket back by the pond. The two visiting geese were making all kinds of noise, calling back and forth to each other. It was rather strange. One of them was on top of the cottage and the other was on the dock and they were just calling to each other. Another day I found one on top of our storage garage and the other one was in the yard. They were having another loud conversation. This went on for a few days. I would hear them calling to each other, one would be on the ground and the other on the very top of the roof. My theory on this whole scene was that the one on the roof was the female and she was playing "hard to get". They would call back and forth. The calls always got louder and closer together. When the calls were in unison, the one on the roof would fly down to the other one, then they were quiet again until it was time for them to leave for the night, then they would start vocalizing again.

Maybe sitting on top of a roof is common for geese, but it was the first time I had ever seen it. These two spent about two weeks with us, then they just stopped coming. I hope to see them again during the Summer.