Saturday 23rd April: New goslings outside the allotments

The goose nesting under the tree at the allotments has produced chicks, probably last night or this morning.  Not sure quite how many yet as they are still in the nest and well hidden.  I am intrigued to know how she is going to get them down that steep bank so I may well be there before dawn tomorrow to watch.   New goslings usually spent the first day in the nest so timing will be everything if I want to catch the moment.   The father has turned up although I haven't seen him about at all while she was sitting on the nest.
At the moment all I can see are several yellow blobs.

None of the other nests are showing any signs of goslings although the one buried deep in the brambles may have goslings but we just can;t see them, they are so cleverly hidden.  The other visible nests have none.  And it looks as if 'Thorn' is the only gosling to hatch from the first laying. 

Micklethwaite moorhens are struggling to keep any semblance of a nest on the canal.  She is very diligent in trying to rebuild it every time a cow's nosiness destroys it.  She does seem to have found them a safe harbour in a hole in the concrete beside the first barge.  I think it is at water level so no nest there so I don't know if she took the chicks back to the nest once the cows left.