One of the more diligent and observant amateurs is Shawn Fitzpatrick. And he posted this on his FB page yesterday and I thought to post it here.Quidi Vidi Lake is right where I live.
Gary is Gone
Copyright(C) Shawn Fitzpatrick
Quidi Vidi Lake, St. John's NL 20200215
The familiar and resounding call from Gary.... his calling card... Hooooonk...Hoooonk _______ Hoooonk Hoooonk!!! It will sound no more 😞
I took this photo three days ago at the lake in blustery and at times white-out conditions.
I have taken many photos of Gary since he graced our beautiful central city lake with his presence.
During his tenure as self-appointed leader of the waterfowl there, he kept an orderly operation. Sometimes he'd scold the Double-crested cormorants for taking up too much real estate for too long.
He was always polite with human patrons of the lake and particularly gentle with children there with their parents feeding him and the ducky's!
I always talked to him and called him in when I went down to feed the crew at the west end of QVL. Gary would always only take a little, never seeming to want to hog everything. It was as if he sensed that the food had to be shared around as best as it could stretch out. So, he would gently eat right from my hand and then move on back out to the water, keeping an orderly eye on the assembly of his waterfowl family.
Gary was a Graylag Goose. He showed up at the lake after being coaxed along by a couple of bird lovers after being first observed along the roadside of Logy Bay Road a few years ago. He was lured to the Virginia river and onward downstream to where it opened up near the Legion into the lake. The rest is legacy 🙂
I started calling him Gary the Graylag and happily enough, it stuck. I think his name suited him well.
From there, he established himself as a much loved fixture. At times keeping the rowers on the water practicing for the regatta on their game, by policing them.
He was known by many, and photographed plenty.
We are going to miss you Gary, you beautiful, handsome goose! I hope that your end was natural, and painless.
PS When Shawn was asked if he had seen the body, he said he had and it was a natural death.
When asked if he buried it so Garyfans could bring flowers and mementos, he said no. He left it there for the bald headed eagles to feast on in the cycle of wildfowl life.
That brings to mind this:
ReplyDelete“Near this spot are deposited the remains of one who possessed Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity, and all the Virtues of Man, without his Vices. This Praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery if inscribed over human ashes, is but a just tribute to the Memory of Boatswain, a Dog.”
- George Gordon, Lord Byron, “Inscription on the Monument of a Newfoundland Dog”
beautiful!
DeleteThis made me cry Ramana, remembering so many of my beloved dogs, my last one especially, darling Ansa.
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Yes , wonderful obituary.
ReplyDeleteIt touches our hearts especially. Animals have so much to teach us.
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What a lovely obituary. I wonder if he sensed that he was so much loved by so many? I like the way he would never take too much food, just enough to keep him going.
ReplyDeleteI think animals sense when they have been rescued or "saved". I know my rescues did, it takes a long time for them to trust but when they do it is an indescribable relationship.
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It is indeed a lovely obituary. I was very glad to read the PS, and hope that I can go out so gently. (an obituary as kind as that is perhaps aiming too high).
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think it's good not to be too aware of how we are doing in the world through the eyes of others. As long as we are doing our very best with what we have, that should be enough.
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Man, what an obit. What will mine be like?
ReplyDeleteI had the same thoughts too Gigi, we just don't know do we? And that's a good thing as I said to EC.
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Quite moving.
ReplyDeleteIt brought tears to my eyes when I read it. Such a simple, important life. And to be so loved for just being.
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A lovely recognition and tribute.
ReplyDeleteA very sweet gentleman of a bird. So very happy he was noticed. I would often observe him outlandish appearance amongst the other fowl on the lake. Serene. Peaceful. Watchful.
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Ah, what an emotionally moving tale. I wonder what his history was before his story began there? How fitting that he was left for nature's way of processing deceased creatures -- in this case, bald eagles as I await the pipping and hatching of new eaglets in a mountain nest near where I live.
ReplyDeleteHe was probably blown off course from the ocean Joared and then rescued by the couple who guided him on to the river and down to the lake.
DeleteWe have so many bald eagles here and there is a nest under cam at the top of one of the hills near the lake. Ours hatch later than yours.
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If only humans could be so noble.
ReplyDeleteRIP Gary Graylag
We have so much to learn from such beautiful creatures.
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A beautiful tribute to a much loved bird. The person who wrote it must be very special.
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