A Different Kind of Round-up

There are all kinds of cowboys in this world. Living in Texas we had the Rodeo with barrel racing, bucking broncos, bucking bulls,  and of course the Rodeo clowns that made everyone laugh. I've read books about round ups that cowboys would do yearly to get their cows from one place to the next. I love cowboy movies and find it amazingly interesting even though I have not been around horses or cows much in my life.

Well, I haven't seen many rodeos here in Maine, but we did have a unique kind of a round up here at the refuge. Every year, when the geese are molting their feathers and can't fly,  refuge staff and volunteers all participate in the Goose Round-up. This is a way to count geese, determine if they are male ore female, and determine if they were born this year or previous years.  They will then band them with a bracelet with a number to be able to track them if recaptured later. The staff start at one corner of a slough and canoe down and around the edges forcing the geese into a pre-placed enclosure that holds the geese till they can band them. It is one neat thing to participate in. The boys and I got to help this year and I am so glad! My boys learned a lot from the refuge staff and enjoyed helping. The staff were very wonderful in teaching the kids which also included the YCC kids, who worked at the refuge this summer. I love being able to participate in Keith's work and I love that my boys get to see and learn about daddy's job and protecting wildlife.

Rounding them up

 Determining if they are male or female

 Isaiah releasing a bird with dad's help

 Another release by Isaiah

 Kaden releasing a goose

 Trying to get a goose out of the cage without the others flying out

 I started taking information

SO there you have a DIFFERENT kind of round-up that had no horses, no cows but a lot of dirt and mud.