<p>The great V’s of Canadian Geese from Alaska and points north have arrived in the mid valley Willamette Valley, Oregon.</p>
<p>Wish I could see that. At the risk of sounding stupid, do they winter with you, or keep moving south?</p>
<p>I saw some headed south while walking along the Charles River (Boston) yesterday.</p>
<p>Karen Colleges, they are supposed to head south but sometimes if people feed them and they have open water available, they do not.</p>
<p>We had a Canadian geese crisis in our town. They summer here (upstate NY) in huge numbers, and especially liked our village green, where there’s a soccer field, amphitheater for summer concerts, adjacent library and parking, etc. Sounds lovely, but the accompanying goose droppings were everywhere, and in volume, too. (To say nothing of the aggressive way some of the geese took off after toddlers walking on the green with their parents. Some of those kids will never be the same again.)</p>
<p>So our village officials contracted with a woman who owns border collies, and she developed a season-long program to have the collies chase off the geese a few years ago. The geese are protected, so no physically harmful means of getting rid of them are allowed. It was fascinating to watch the dogs at work - they’re amazing animals. </p>
<p>Most of the geese have since found other locations in the area to spend their summers (though it’s still hazardous to park a freshly-washed car in the lot). We are always relieved to see those V formations heading south. :)</p>
<p>Not to be picky but it’s Canada Geese not Canadian Geese.</p>
<p>And though I love to see them flying and hearing them honk, I’m always glad when they fly right by. They are very messy.</p>
<p>I saw an enormous flock of cormorants flying over the Jersey shore this morning. It was in a series of ragged V formations that stretched a half-mile and probably had a thousand birds.</p>
<p>I saw four deer today, yes, in the city.</p>
<p>I’m always so sad when I see the geese leaving. Signals the beginning of a lllooonnnngggg winter here in New England. Seems like if the animals are smart enough to head south maybe we humans should too… I’d like to migrate to the Bahamas.</p>
<p>Canada Geese have settled down here in the Bay Area, too. Like many who come to California they show no inclination to go anywhere else. They have taken up residence in several parks and lakes. The local leaders are trying to decide whether they are good to have around or are beutiful but large pests. The jury’s still out. Anyonw who knows how to get them to move south could have a good opportunity hereabouts.</p>
<p>Hunting season’s right around the corner :)</p>
<p>We lived in Denver during the economic downturn in the 80’s . One day the local paper had two main stories on the front page - one was about the large, agressive, nasty, polluting flock of Canada geese that had taken up year-round residence on one of the local golf courses. The other was about the dearth of donations for holiday meals at the local food banks, due to the downturn. Lots of people weren’t going to get a Christmas turkey. Surely I wasn’t the only one who thought the city could have two solutions at one time…</p>
<p>Did you get some beautiful pictures of the V’s of birds?</p>
<p>On occasion, we see wildlife in our neighborhood, even though we are just five blocks off a major thoroughfare, La Cienega Blvd. Saturday evening we drove home late, after midnight, and spied a gray fox scurrying for cover.</p>
<p>A couple of years ago traffic was all backed up because a gaggle of geese (I think that’s the term) had decided to walk across the road from a pond toward an elementary school. After the cars sat and waited for the geese to finish crossing the road, the geese continued down the road a way… then FLEW over the fence to the playground to poop on the gravel there. Couldn’t they have just flown from the pond and not stopped traffic? Plus the kids couldn’t play on the expensive new playground the PTA bought for 2 months due to geese droppings everywhere.</p>
<p>Next time they’re strolling slowly across the road, I don’t think I’ll stop.</p>
<p>Actually, I probably will stop. They’re awfully pretty, even though they are a nuisance.</p>
<p>Each goose can produce up to a pound and a half of poop per day. Once again, a pound an a half per bird, per day!!! Judging from my neighborhood, they have a preference for depositing it on pavement rather than grass. THese beautiful creatures need to be managed and not allowed to encroach on non-native habitats.</p>