Sometimes you don’t intend to spend five hours working on a story — it just happens.
Yesterday’s event wasn’t really a story at all. It turned out to be an experience.
It started with a trip down to Cobourg Harbour to bid adieu, for now, to the tall ship St. Lawrence II.
The vessel has frequently visited Cobourg over the years and is always warmly welcomed by the town and its residents. Shortly after 1 p.m., the ship slipped out of Cobourg Harbour and headed west toward Hamilton.
But it wasn’t the ship that ultimately captured my attention.
It was a family of geese nesting in one of the planters at the end of the centre pier.
The parents had been nesting there for several weeks. They first caught my attention one evening while I was walking my dog. It was a peaceful stroll — until I unknowingly passed too close to the nest. Needless to say, it was no longer a peaceful walk.
Fast forward to Wednesday evening when I was visiting the St. Lawrence II while it was docked on the centre pier. The geese were still there, but there was no sign of any goslings.
That changed Thursday morning.
Six bright yellow goslings were tucked inside the planter while their parents stood watch nearby. The babies were experiencing their very first morning.
The tiny geese brought smiles and squeals of delight from people passing by, many stopping to admire the young family.
Once the St. Lawrence II departed, it was time to focus on what I started calling the “Lawrence” family of eight.
For the first little while, the parents stayed close to the goslings, rarely venturing far from the planter. But as the minutes turned into hours, it became obvious they were trying to encourage their young to leave the nest.
There was only one problem.
The sides of the planter were simply too high.
The parents honked. The goslings tweeted.
Nothing.
Again and again the parents called from outside the planter while the goslings answered from within.
Still nothing.
One corner of the planter appeared to offer the best chance of escape. The goslings jumped as high as they could, using their tiny wings to propel themselves upward.
But it still seemed impossible.
Then, after nearly an hour of trying, one gosling made it.
The tiny bird scrambled over the edge only to discover a drop of nearly a metre onto the concrete below.
With its parents calling from the ground, the gosling took a leap of faith.
It launched itself off the ledge.
At this stage of life, those little wings were mostly decorative.
Splat.
A little stunned, the gosling quickly shook it off and joined its parents.
Not long afterward, a second gosling found its way down.
But after that, progress stalled.
The parents honked and honked. They even flew back into the planter, seemingly trying to demonstrate the route to freedom.
Nothing worked.
It appeared impossible.
With two goslings now out and four still trapped inside, it seemed as though the remaining youngsters might be left behind.
Soon the first two goslings entered the water, and the family of four headed west along the inner basin of Cobourg Harbour.
The goslings still trapped in the planter seemed to sense what was happening. Their tweets — now sounding more like cries for help — grew louder.
Before long, the parents and their two young were out of sight.
Gone.
A Town of Cobourg marina attendant stepped in and tried to help, placing a wooden board inside the planter to create a ramp to the ground.
At first, a few goslings seemed interested.
One even made it partway down before changing its mind and awkwardly waddling back into the safety of the nest.
Eventually, two more goslings found their way out.
With the parents nowhere in sight, the tiny calls of the newly freed birds became their best hope.
Sure enough, within minutes, the parents and the first two goslings returned to the centre pier.
The reunion was underway.
The newest arrivals didn’t seem particularly interested in jumping into the water. Instead, they slowly and clumsily waddled along the pier while their parents floated nearby and the first two goslings followed behind.
When they reached the shoreline, one of the parents climbed onto the embankment.
Now there were four goslings reunited with their parents.
Only two remained.
One of the last goslings appeared a little awkward. Whether it had been one of the last to hatch or was dealing with some other challenge was impossible to know.
But eventually, the final two found their way from the planter to the pier and then to the water.
The Lawrence family was together once again.
It’s one of those events that took nearly five hours to cover.
But watching the story unfold through photos and video was well worth the time. It was a reminder of the strength of family bonds, the determination of young life, and the remarkable resilience of nature.
Sometimes the best stories aren’t planned at all.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
