Canada Goose Family in Tuolumne River Water (but not in the Tuolumne River)

It's a bit of an odd title, but I'll explain. This sweet little family of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) was feeding in the grass along a canal that feeds water from Don Pedro Reservoir into Turlock Lake Reservoir. They jumped into the fast flowing water as I walked over the bridge. So the water the geese were cavorting in was Tuolumne River water, but it wasn't the Tuolumne River. It was probably first diverted at Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park and sent through penstocks to produce electricity before stored once again in Don Pedro Reservoir. The water was then sent through the canal into Turlock Lake Reservoir before being divvied out to the irrigated fields of the Great Valley. Such is the complicated way we utilize our precious rivers.

Um...aren't Canada Geese supposed to be breeding far to the north in Canada? It seems there are more and more who like Central California during the summer and hang around rather than make the hazardous migration north. At times they become somewhat of a pest in parks and lawns. But those goslings sure are cute!