The Lake and the Geese

The Lake and the Geese

There are two kinds of lakes, they say. There are lakes that you like, and those that you don't know or don't like. I think there are also those that you are forced to like and appreciate. The lake I am talking about is a man-made one. At first it was forced upon me. Later I managed to like it. This piece of reelection was done many years ago (while I was in Canberra may be in 2004)

Like some students, I usually arrive at the uni early in the morning. I notice that there are a few new types of birds on my way to my building (apart from the galas, magpies, rosaries, the crows, and a few others). They make strange sounds and usually fly pretty high. I will try to get to know them soon!. Birds are plenty in this city.

The other day I walked to my place. It took me an hour to walk back. On the way, I had to walk along the lake. I refer to Lake Ginninderra. On the way, I saw nine geese (4 white and 4 mixed colors), plenty of ducks and water birds. There are two (at least) types of ducks: the brown and the green (I call them anyway). Along the lake, smaller birds (they make nice sounds) went back to their nests, which are close to swamps. In Canberra’s summer, the sun will not set until 9 PM!

I have observed that most birds around the uni love to chat in the morning. They seem to be chatty when no human is around! But what interest me most are their languages. I think they may use (make sounds) in different systems of meaning. Could they be multilingual? I bet they are! They interact with each other a lot every day. They must have learned many languages.

I noticed myself paying special attention to ducks and geese. I was so angry when the city (Belconnen ?) decided to take the geese away, saying that they destroyed the ecology of the lake. I raised this issue with one Aussie bloke I knew. He asked me : What's the point of geese?