Glenda and Martin Schumacher, a married couple living in Barrington Estate, Ballito became the proud grandparents of a clutch of goslings Tuesday afternoon after a wild Egyptian goose made her nest in one of their flower pots.
Excited to welcome the arrival of the fledgling birds, Glenda said she was surprised to find the mother goose tearing at a pot plant on the balcony of their two storey apartment before she realised their feathered friend was building herself a nest.
“I was thrilled that the mother selected our home to build her nest, even though she made quite a huge mess as she worked,” she said.
After laying a clutch of seven eggs, which were fiercely guarded by the goose, Glenda was frightened to use her own balcony until she was convinced the goose had got used to her presence.
“She chose the nest of her own accord, and four weeks to the day later, her little babies hatched,” said Glenda.
After all seven ‘ugly ducklings’ broke out of their eggs, Martin and Glenda decided it would be better for the new family of geese to be relocated, as living two floors up from the ground was not exactly ideal for brand new chicks.
Now 18-hours-old, the goslings and their reluctant mother were moved from their terracotta birthplace to their new home at the Waterberry Coffee Shoppe’s pond in Ballito.
Egyptian geese are native to the Africa’s Nile basin and are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
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