June 7, 2019
A like for wide-open, grassy spaces near water. A preference for, yes, blueberries. Fidelity for life, with a mate chosen to match your own size, more or less. “Gang”broods, where several young ones of different families cluster together guarded by one or two adults. And, last but not least, an increasing affinity for life in urban spaces.
Geese, of course.
I met them yesterday in downtown Portland, resting on the sidewalk, until it was time to go foraging on the lawns of the Esplanade. They like grassy areas to be as open as possible so that they have an unobstructed view of predators while munching on the grass which they can miraculously digest.
The product of that digestion, alas, is one of the nuisances of the increasing goose populations in cities: 3 pounds of poop per goose per day. Shall we say it adds up…..
Aggressive, territorial behavior when it comes to nesting season can be another problem. Most dangerous, though, is the possibility that these geese create traffic accidents, including the potential for colliding with airplanes with catastrophic consequences.
Why are they around? Turns out not for the food – foraging in cities is less productive than in the fields or other less built-up places.
It is for safety. 2.6 million geese are “harvested” by hunters annually in North America, as the Cornell Lab of Ornithology put it so delicately. That’s out of a population of approx. 4.2 million. Obviously they’ve heard the news that they won’t be shot dead in cities. Or not at that rate, anyways. It also keeps them warmer – survival rate for geese in Northern cities is 100% compared to their counterparts roaming the wild in winter – 48% do not make it. (Birds for the study cited above, by the way were lured with Honey Nut Cheerios to be tagged for observation – I guess their all time favorite blueberries were too expensive….)
Man, the little ones are cute though, particularly when they unblinkingly stare back at you practically walking across your feet:
As were their human urchin counterparts, busily trying not to let go of the rope……
Music today is one of my all time favorite renditions of the Children’s Corner by Pascal Rogé, in honor of the young one’s facing a life in an ever more dangerous world.
May we learn to share space and protect each other.
joseph mclelland
I can’t let this one go without a comment. Tried one just now but lost it; it was getting long, anyway. Thanks for the geese and the data. They, along with most migrating birds, are one of my favored subjects; might be from having been a migrant myself, who knows. It was in ’05 that while on an early AM Spring bike ride I happened on one of their landing spots along the river and thought I should try going “home” like they do all the time; wrote to an old friend in Santiago and went. (American Airlines . . .). Then, there’s the Children’s Corner, something I grew up listening to. Many a time in Spring I’ve stepped out on hearing the honking, way up, as they arrive and seen the V formation, usually between clouds. I like the feeling. Your reports are about the world, usually the better parts of it. Happy Friday.