I found this reference to "Mother Carey" on the web (edited slightly
for readability):
E. Cobham Brewer 1810-1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Mother Carey's Chickens.
1. Stormy[sic] petrels. Mother Carey is Mater Cara. The French call
these birds oiseaux de Notre Dame or aves Sanctae Mariae. Chickens
are the young of any fowl, or any small bird.
2. "They are called the 'sailor's' friends, come to warn them of an
approaching storm; and it is most unlucky to kill them. The legend is
that each bird contains the soul of a dead seaman."
(See Captain Marryat: "Poor Jack", where the superstition is fully
related.)
3. Mother Carey's Goose. The great Black Petrel or Fulmar of the
Pacific Ocean.
4. Mother Carey is plucking her goose. It is snowing. (See HULDA.)
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Paul Taylor Veni, vidi, tici -
I came, I saw, I ticked.
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