FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] Old Mamma Goose at Musick's Campground

["Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Mamma Goose
Musick's Campground
South Holston Lake
Sullivan Co., TN
A female Canada Goose who is known to be at least 11 years old, put in a nice 
visit to the "outer banks" of Musick's Campground this morning (9/12).   She is 
marked with a collar and has been an old aquaintance of Bristol Bird Club 
members and I have personally known her for a decade.

It's been four and one-half years since I've seen her.  The last time was May 
14, 2000 when she was hanging out on the Spring Creek Mudflats along Va. Rt. 75 
in the Spring Creek Embayment of South Holston Lake, Washington Co., Va.   It 
was the time of year when lovers have gosslings on their mind and she was with 
her boyfriend.  She had known him for about six years back then.

The Bristol Bird Club has kept a computer database of 983 observations of neck 
colared and banded Canada Geese dating back nearly 20 years.  Our record are 
for birds from places such as Ontario, Hendersonville, NC, Summers, W.VA., 
Richmond, VA and the Big Sandy Unit Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge in West 
Tennessee.  But mostly they are for hundreds of sightings in Northeast 
Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.

The love birds from South Holston Lake have put in a few appearance on our list 
over the years.  

They were together July 7, 1994 when the Virginia Dept Game Inland Fisheries 
caught them at the Creeper Trail Head Pond in  Abingdon,  Washington Co., Va. 
and gave her neck collar +JL and him +J9.  Biologist know all about how to tell 
the gals from the guys.

She got her colar registered with the Bristol Bird Club on Oct. 31, 1994 when 
BBC member Jeff Larsen found her still hanging around at the Creeper Trail Head 
Pond in Abingdon, Va. 

Her boyfriend made our list of most wanted February 12, 1995 at the same 
location
when John Shumate, Carolyn Coffey, Lorrie Shumate and Wallace Coffey spotted 
him.

He was with her the last time I saw her May 14, 2000 on the Spring Creek 
Mudflats.

Today's record breaking observation unfolded while Terry Witt of Murfreesboro, 
Al and Sandy Kolak (Knoxville), Carolyn & Wallace Coffey (Bristol TN), Janice & 
Fred Martin (Bristol, VA) and Lorain and Bert Hale (Bluff City, TN) were 
keeping the vigil for the Sooty Tern at the campground.

Fred Martin noticed that a single Canada Goose on the outer banks had a white 
ring around its neck and asked Bert Hale what he thought about that.  It was 
called to Coffey's attention who did not notice it was a very-worn full cone 
neck colar.  Bert Hale noticed that it was a full colar and we started looking 
closer.  Most of the colar was worn down but I could, when the light was 
reflecting just right, see the number +J9 visibile more as an impression in the 
colar than as an actual printed number.

The Martins soon left and Frank Bills and Sharon Bostic from Knoxville arrived 
but the goose had departed by then.

Love stories are just wonderful.  Aren't they ?   I wonder where her boyfriend 
is.  Is he n living ?   Don Holt telephoned the other morning and said two men 
in a boat were shooting Canada Geese off the bank from their boat and dipping 
the injured and dead birds from the lake.  The "sportsmen" are taking part in 
the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency's annual fall Canada Goose season which 
began Sept. 5.  They may kill five (5) geese per day each for each day of the 
season.

Old +JL has either been too smart or just lucky in the right place at the right 
time.  I hope she wasn't nearby watching if +J9 got shot right off the bank 
sometime not too long ago.  What a sad story that would have been for her!  And 
for some of us too. 

Let's go birding.....

Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN


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