All: Sorry for the duplicate report, but it was brought to my attention that the computer was set on 1997!! I`m a little smarter now, so I went ahead and fixed it. Hi All: I hate to be redundant on the attack theme, but my husband, nephew and myself had a ( too ) close encounter with an enraged Canada Goose protecting a nesting female. We were aware of their presence and in the process of giving them a wide berth when the male took matters into his own hands ( wings? ) and flew to a position about 20` from us. At this point, I begin to think " we might be in trouble here." We began to back up, and it followed ( at a run ), neck flattened out parallel to the ground, beak open and hissing. It quickly closed the gap. I found myself on the front line; apparently my cohorts were more talented at back pedalling than myself!! I yelled, waved my arms; it continued to approach. At this point it is literally at my feet, looking more pissed off than ever, and giving no signs of going away. In a desparate and purely instinctive protective response ( trying to save my --- ) I kicked out at the beast and made contact with its` beak. That was when I felt the old injury give way, and all those deep seated pelvic muscles groan in protest. That was also when I lost my balance and landed on my butt in the mud!! The goose was momentarily thrown off the trail; I was able to pick myself up and we made our escape. I felt horrible for kicking it, but as mentioned it was a reflexive response. It seemed fine and began to pick at some grass as we left. In hindsight, I should have taken off my hat to thrash about its` face, but I was DUMBfounded and not thinking. Needless to say, my nephew named this Goose as his favorite bird of the day!! Other sightings on this trip that was billed as a beginners: ( No-one showed but us; my nephew enjoyed himself and proclaimed that he " didn`t know bird watching could be so much fun!!" ) Trip was to the Meadow Park area of Elkton We had 45 species during our 1 1/2 hr. jaunt. **New arrival. My nephew thought the single** Little Blue Heron was pretty cool,( my first LBHE at this spot ) likewise the Osprey that hovered over the ponds. ** Common Yellow-throat heard singing. Wood-ducks ( 5 ) were listed as fly-by. ** Green Heron ( 1 ) also flew over the ponds. This was a good place for the above last year. Dylan also got an in-your-face- look at several Ruby-crowned Kinglets, singing. Tree and Barn Swallows were numerous. One Belted Kingfisher was heard rattling. In the future, I will keep even FURTHER away from nesting Canada Geese. This was one belligerent boy; I would say we were at a comfortable distance from the nest-site, but evidently not in this Gooses` mind!! All we were trying to do was observe a muskrat swimming up the pond. Going back on the ice, Leslie Fisher Cecil Co.