Bob La Trémouille reports:
Over the winter, Brown Beauty, daughter of Bumpy, lost one of her two daughters, Little Girl.
Brown Beauty was hatched in 1996. Her parents were Bumpy, the long time leader of the gaggle, and his mate. She, through recessive genes, was for many years the only brown member of the gaggle of the White Geese. She bears markings similar to those of a Brown China Goose, and has the characteristic bump.
She, because of her distinctive looks and because of her very clear pride as the daughter of Bumpy, has long been a key part of the gaggle of the Charles River White Geese.
Brown Beauty’s three sons from 1999 all had black wing tips and bore the distinctive look of White China Geese. She was training them for gaggle leadership. Her two daughters were less easy to spot.
Two of these sons have died. One died very quickly after being shot. The second was shot at the same time and apparently died of complications.
There is a difference of opinion as to whether the third son continues to survive, has just become lost in the gaggle or is Brown Beauty’s mate.
I find the son / mate analysis hard to believe because she had the five babies by somebody and nobody has ever shown me that her current mate is different from her prior mate. Additionally, the three sons had black wing tips. The current mate does not have black wing tips.
With the winter’s death, one daughter survives.
Brown Beauty was one of the gaggle most severely hurt by the October 1999 destruction of the nesting area by Boston University acting on behalf of the DCR / MDC. The vegetation in the middle of the nesting area, in which she had nested, was destroyed. She was sufficiently disturbed that she did not nest in 2000.
In 2001, at one point her eggs were broken on her head. Later large scale nest destruction was accomplished by the DCR / MDC or by a functional equivalent entity. Brown Beauty defended her nest. Brown Beauty was beaten severely. At the same time as Bumpy was killed in July 2001, five other geese were severely beaten including Brown Beauty. More large scale nest destruction occurred in a subsequent year.
In 2003 and 2004, sickos from the Charles River Conservancy ran around poisoning eggs of the Charles River White Geese. This sick organization has poisoned every goose egg it could get away with on the first ten miles of the Charles River in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. These are the same guys who are destroying all the protective vegetation they can on the edge of the Charles River and who have threatened the lair of the Charles River White Ducks.
In 2006, Brown Beauty had a proud son, a real beauty whom I call Angel. Angel stands out with very distinct markings that I compare to a hood.
The CRUWI people think that L.C. who also hatched in 2005 is a son of Brown Beauty. He certainly looks similar to Brown Beauty. L.C. begs to differ since he does not consider Brown Beauty his mother.
Brown Beauty bore the several barren years from 1999 to 2005 not well. For a period in 2005, she showed symptoms of being mentally imbalanced because of her problems. Since she bore her beautiful son in 2006, she has regained her characteristic pride and excellent carriage.
By 2006, the vegetation in the middle of the goose meadow had finally regrown after the sick initial and continued destruction by BU / MDC / DCR / whoever is doing the dirty work. For the first time, Brown Beauty was able to nest where she nested in 1999. The geese get quite possessive of the places where they nest. Birth of their babies has great meaning to them. The result, in 2006, was Angel.
Brown Beauty’s deceased daughter, Little Girl also had two babies in the 2006 nesting season. They may have been adopted by Brown Beauty, but she would normally have a close relationship with her grandchildren.
Thank you to CRUWI for reporting on this distressing passing and on the 2006 grandchildren. I was aware of neither.
There was no apparent cause of Little Girl's death. One day Little Girl was alive and alert. The next day she was gone. It was during the coldest part of the winter, but her death was isolated. That is the way of the world.
