Goose is gone - eggs are still here

[TulsaGooseWatcher]

We have a goose and gander outside our office building. She has laid 4 eggs and they should be hatching any day now, first one laid on April 17th. But she has been off the nest for several hours now and is no where in sight. The male is still here protecting the area. The eggs are not covered as she normally does when she is up and around. Is this normal for her to be gone longer periods when it is closer to hatching time? We are all concerned and hoping she returns quickly. We are in Tulsa, OK and it has been in the mid 60 degrees today.

 

[foxy]

That is odd..was she disturbed off the nest? Unusual she has not covered the eggs before leaving them. She either knows the eggs are not developing or maybe something has happened to her. They should just about be OK if the weather is warm for a couple of hours.

 

[TulsaGooseWatcher]

We didn't see anything disturb her. An employee left about midnight and she was there. Another employee came in about 5:30 am and she was gone. No signs of a struggle - feathers, blood, broken or cracked eggs. But I guess something could have happened to her if she left to bathe. Our location doesn't have any bodies of water and I have seen them both flying in from the west and there are small ponds and creeks about 1/4 - 1/2 mile away. I arrived at 9:15 and a friend was feeding the gander, we have not seen her since then. The whole building is wondering what could have happened.

 

[TulsaGooseWatcher]

But then if she left on her own - she would have covered them...its a mystery.

 

[TulsaGooseWatcher]

Well mystery is solved. They watched the security video and a fox got her.

 

[Marigold]

Oh dear. How terrible. It sounds as if she will be mourned by all who work with you. How is the gander getting on without her?

 

[NEWTODUCKS]

How sad, what about the eggs???