17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A scientist's eye and a writer's eloquence, May 31, 2004
This review is from: The Geese of Beaver Bog (Hardcover)
The serendipitous adoption of a gosling sparked several years' close observation of her species as they nested in the bog near biologist Heinrich's Vermont home.
The bog itself, with its variety of teeming life, provides a rich background community, illuminated by Heinrich's breadth of knowledge, curiosity and eloquence. Heinrich's ever-present sense of wonder ("Winter World," "Mind of the Raven") animates his keen scientific eye, quickening a corresponding fascination in the reader.
His observations of geese, "peripheral to swamp watching," began in 1997 when a pair of Canada geese nested on a hummock in the beaver pond where Heinrich came every dawn, mostly to observe the beavers. Habituating himself to the pair, he expected to be able to enjoy a summer of observing their family life, but the day after the goslings hatched, the whole family disappeared, not to be seen again. The same thing happened the next year, and the next.
Meanwhile, in 1998, Heinrich's toddler son acquired a day-old Canada goose, Peep. In just a few short paragraphs Heinrich conveys the manic difficulties of raising goose and toddler together over a summer, and the regret and relief when Peep disappeared one day, presumably to join one of the migrating flocks overhead. It was two years before he saw her again - standing on his gravel driveway with her mate at dawn, after announcing her presence in a raucous flight around his house.
As Peep and her mate, dubbed Pop, showed signs of trying to nest (although Peep was a year younger than the usual nesting age) at the bog pond, Heinrich's enthusiasm for goose watching reached new heights. Often arriving before dawn, he observed the interactions between the resident pair and Peep and Pop as well as other geese that came to the bog looking to nest.
The fights were noisy, dramatic, and puzzling, since there was plenty of room and food for all. But the resident pair drove off all comers and Peep and Pop finally chose a less desirable area nearby. To Heinrich's delight, Peep laid some eggs and the pair settled in. But Peep was not as attentive as older mothers tend to be and her nest was attacked more than once, its eggs tossed out. Though Heinrich did not catch them in the act, he suspected the resident geese in the adjacent pond, as the eggs were not eaten.
While observing Peep and Pop's trials and tribulations as well as feeding and pair bonding behavior, and the dramas enacted between other geese, Heinrich also notes the inexplicable antics of the red-winged blackbirds, the forest-shaping habits of the beavers, and the baby-sitting behaviors of grackles, among many others. He relates the process of habituating the geese to his presence and how Peep's treatment of him differed from that of the wild geese.
Though none ever went so far as Peep and her reluctant mate who visited his yard daily whenever possible, Jane (the resident goose in the main pond) allowed him to examine her nest, even after the eggs had hatched.
Watching the geese over several years, Heinrich reports a number of curious and anomalous behaviors. The myth of the faithful goose explodes in a drama of faithlessness and opportunism any soap opera could be proud of, a drama that helps to explain some of the other puzzling anomalies he notes.
Like any scientist Heinrich reaches theoretical conclusions, but he saves them until the end, allowing the reader to puzzle things out independently. He also includes four appendices: a chronology of geese at the two beaver ponds; a summary of pioneering ethologist (animal behaviorist) Konrad Lorenz' work with the Greylag geese, which Heinrich read extensively after concluding his own observations; a discussion of the races and populations of Canada Geese, and a list of birds found around Beaver Bog. Naturally he also includes an extensive list of sources by topic.
An involving, engaging and vivid writer, Heinrich reminds us how intricate and amazing a place the world is, while illuminating a bit of its mystery.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bernd's "Beaver Bog" boggles!, November 28, 2005
This review is from: The Geese of Beaver Bog (Hardcover)
After a few chapters, the number of "5:30 AM" entries seem staggering. While i'm struggling to figure out which end is "up" on the coffee-maker, Heinrich is already out in the field. He's watching his subjects, talking to them and offering them handouts, and recording their behaviour in meticulous detail. The rewards, he demonstrates with enthusiasm, are many and fruitful. His descriptions are certainly a rewarding read - even if i have to have a nap before commenting on them.
Heinrich chose his home location well. The countryside of Vermont offers rich pickings for a naturalist and this one has taken full advantage of that situation. In this book, he ventures to a set of ponds created by beaver dams. Beaver and muskrat lodges make ideal nesting sites for geese. The two creatures don't disturb each other and the isolation keeps predators away from both. Heinrich expects geese and isn't disappointed. They arrive, take up station, fend off later visitors intent on occupying the same territory, mate and produce eggs. Heinrich dutifully records all the activity - sometimes with unexpected precision: "She slept four minutes".
At first, it all seems like another naturalist's jaunt into the woods. Interesting and enviable, but does it mean anything to us? Heinrich, however, is surprised by what he observes. Not the least unexpected is the book's opening - an adult goose pursuing his pick-up along a road at 60 kilometres an hour. There are other, more compelling mysteries. In an engaging account of "Pop" and "Jane" producing a flock of goslings, Heinrich discovers the entire mob has disappeared from the nest. He'd already tested the couple's attitude toward him by reaching under the incubating female to check the condition of her eggs [try it! i'll just watch from over here]. Tracking their likely path, he discovers a colony of geese and goslings some distance from their home ponds. Even more astonishing is the fact that the number of parents and goslings don't properly match. Some of the parents have left their offspring to the care of "gosling-sitters" and flown north. Why would geese abandon their young when other birds spend enormous amounts of time and energy supplying and teaching theirs?
Heinrich's answer is an excellent study in evolutionary strategies. He discusses different species and various environments. He unashamedly uses human metaphor to describe various survival strategies among different animals. Why not? That's due to the long history of animals developing methods for survival and reproduction. Many of these techniques will be similar in some conditions, different in others. All can be assessed in terms of success and the likely logic isn't difficult to impart. Heinrich can describe it better than many, carefully and clearly imparting his own reasoning. With a persistence many should envy, he made his observations in every circumstance possible. He recorded dutifully and brings those observations to us with great fervour. His concluding remarks about hunting and sustaining populations will be a jolt to idealogues. Yet his views are pertinent and perceptive. Read this for an informative account of our signallers of the seasons. While we still have them to watch passing overhead. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
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