It is not only the quail that run along the pond near the Quail Run Apartments in Perry. Geese also gather in the rushes along the banks, and one nesting pair returned today, a sure sign of the arrival of spring.
Jenny and David are the fond names given the goose and gander by 4-year-old Blayke Fuller of Perry, whose grandmother, Leeann Beaman, photographed the new arrivals Tuesday.
The breeding pair produced a gaggle of eight goslings last year, and the family was commonly seen crossing Iowa Street at some peril to their lives in order to browse in the greener grass beyond the pond.
Geese mate for life, according to ornithologists, and the lifespan of a goose that survives to adulthood ranges from 10 to 24 years. Some geese, such as Jenny and David, return to the same nesting ground year after year to lay eggs with their mate, raising them in the same way with each round of the seasons.
Goslings enter the fledgling stage at six to nine weeks of age and do not leave their parents until after the spring migration, when they return to their birthplace.
Motorists are encouraged to use caution when traveling in the 2900 block of Iowa Street and to brake for geese.
