Learning to fly
<p>The last of five goslings leaps from an osprey nest at McEuen Park. This still image is from a video recorded by one of the city's osprey nest cameras. The final gosling - the most hesitant of the group - waited more than 20 minutes after its parents took flight before jumping. The full video can be found at http://bit.ly/1ze2aRt.</p>
<p>Five goslings and one of their parents watch as another adult Canada Goose flies away from an Osprey nest at McEuen Park on April 24. The second parent left shortly after, and each of the five goslings took a leap of faith.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - Five goslings followed the lead of their parents and leapt 70 feet from an osprey nest at McEuen Park.
Lucky for them they have wings. Lucky for you, the whole thing was captured on the city's recently installed osprey cameras.
A pair of Canada geese were recorded last week as they were teaching their babies to fly. Wild geese often use the park's osprey nests to raise their young before the sea hawks arrive. This year, the lessons were caught in living color.
The geese are seen in the video beginning the lesson by jumping off the nest and flying to the ground below. Following the lead of mom and dad a minute later, the first gosling leaps off the nest, flapping its wings on the way down.
Seconds later, another gosling hops off the edge, and two others join the flight school minutes later.
One gosling is reluctant to launch. It paces back and forth while staying securely in the middle. Park visitors are seen casually strolling by below, unaware of the drama unfolding 70 feet above them.
Finally, more than 20 minutes after its parents began class, the gosling inches closer and closer to the edge. It hesitates just for a moment, straining its small head to look at the ground below.
Then the gosling pushes off the ledge and begins falling down while rapidly flapping its wings.
The city of Coeur d'Alene posted the entire 27-minute flying lesson to its website, which can be found by visiting: http://bit.ly/1ze2aRt
Paul and Sharon Smyly observed the scene, prompting them to write a letter to The Press about what they witnessed. In their letter to the editor, the Smylys described an adult goose taking off from the nest.
Within a minute, two of the goslings "just went to the edge and took off." Others followed the lead of their parents shortly after.
And then there was one.
"He didn't like anything about what was happening and walked, wobbled and generally squawked for a few minutes," wrote the Smylys, Coeur d'Alene residents. "Then, just like Butch and Sundance, he flew."