Oh, Canada Goose...

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, there are now 6,777,000 Canada Geese in North America. These willful birds thrive in New England where millions of acres of forest have given way these last 300 years to lawns and golf courses.

In my youth (an era that I frequently refer to in order to ground myself) we rarely saw any geese at all, save those raised for Christmas consumption. If we saw a lonely formation honking along at altitudes between 3,000 and 29,000 feet, it was cause for a sense of awe about the universe. (I distinguish “awe” from the exhaustively used “awesome,” which used to be applied to exploding volcanoes and toppling skyscrapers but now serves in place of “okay.”)

Now, simply due to their numbers, these tireless travellers are treated as vermin. I am sure Donald J.T. would happily poison any that stepped on his fairways.

My wife Shyla and I are the protectors of a devoted couple that produced 6 goslings last year and have recently returned to our little pond at Stone Hill Farm to see if they can repeat the performance. Photos of our little family are attached.

Yours from the field,
Andy