While biking around lake cochituate on the 17th, Me and a few of my friends found an active Canada goose nest on a small island. The island was an amazing nesting site because it was surrounded by water, protecting it from most predators. The water was in the low 50s, so swimming over there was painful. When we arrived, a female Canada goose was sitting in some bushes. Suspecting it had a nest, we crept closer. It kept hissing at us. Eventually, It's fear took control and she retreated to the water. It was still angrily hissing in the water. She was standing right on the shoreline, staring at us and not following the other geese out into the lake. All was fine though, because she, along with all 6 of the other geese returned immediately after we left.
The mother goose pucks her down feathers as seen above, to make the nest softer. I will come back frequently, and check in on the eggs. Hopefully the nest has a better fate then the cardinal's.
On the 29th, I was biking across wickford bridge and noticed a different pair of geese, Swimming with 5 hatchling geese. I decided to start following these geese instead, as they are at about the same point in growth as the other nest, and they live much closer to my house. Pictures below.
They started up upstream from the bridge, then passed under it, and fed on the Central Street side of the river, and then crosses over to the cattails on the Simpson side. Geese mainly eat grasses, so they were probably feeding on the tall grass that bordered parts of the river.
(above) on the 24th, I returned to the river, to try and spot them again. They were all doing well, and were nibbling at plants in the mud. I followed them down the riverbank, but could not get within 10 feet without them hissing at me or panicking. The photo to the top right shows one of the parents hissing. They were not physically aggressive at all, and the hissing almost seemed like a bluff, but i still respect it because I dont want them to abandon their offspring like the cardinal parents.