I went out to a nearby lake a few mornings ago to soak in a some stillness and nourish my soul with a bit of beauty. It was rather chilly with the temps in the twenties, but oh so peaceful. Well, peaceful until the geese showed up!
Whenever they came soaring in, they announced their arrival with some raucous honking!
Also, it is the time of the year when birds are starting to pair up and get a bit possessive of their potential mates, so the geese were even grumpier and more ill-mannered than usual. This fella came gliding by with his gal, but was loudly letting every other goose know to keep their distance.
When a rival suitor got a little too close for his liking, he flew off…
…and got into a thoroughly entertaining skirmish.
Eventually, the rival went on his way and the victor boasted of his dominance with some taunting and trash-talking!
The geese were fun to watch, but my favorite photos of the day were of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet who was loudly chattering from some brambly branches. Normally, these little birds keep their crowns concealed, like this fella…
…but when they are trying to impress a female or intimidate a rival male, they flare their crowns and flap their wings repeatedly.
He was QUITE chatty…
…and often paused to give me a “mind you own business” kind of stare!
My favorite shot of the day was the one below.
Isn’t he a gorgeous little guy!
You just never know what surprises await at the lake!
Backyard Bird Nerd 
The smallest is the prettiest!
I agree!
Ha! Those photos of the goose skirmish are quite funny. 😆
Wish you could have seen it in person…and heard it!
Great captures, Kathy. Geese can be quite hostile, can’t they? Love that darling kinglet!
They can be rather rude!
I love these. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a singlet. I might have and thought it was a goldfinch. I’ll keep my eyes open next walk about. my favorite is him staring at you. but that last shot is beautiful.
Auto correct made him into a singlet. sigh
I do hope you get to encounter one!
Great, fun action shots of the geese. They do love to honk! Your RCKinglet shots are amazing!! 🤗
Thanks! I was glad to finally get some with his crown!
What a great outing to the Lake you had, Kathy. Your geese drama entertained me too, Honk! Honk! And your favorite photo of the Kinglet was portrait & prize winningly beautiful, but I have to agree with Dawn, the one where he is facing off with you is my favorite too. It’s terrific! Captures his ferocious Mighty Moe personality to a T & steals a march on that African bird I’ve heard of – the Go-Away Bird.
He was giving me quite a talking to!
Beautiful shots Kathy
Thanks!
What a cute little redhead (the Kinglet)! Very interesting story unfolding in your geese images as well.
Your photos always inspires me to paint. Beautiful photos, I loved the second one the geese in flight.