Hello beloved nature lovers,

As some of you may or may not know, I spent the last half of this term observing the Canada Goose. During my observations, I actively had to search to find these birds around Hanover. I ended up spending most of my time walking to the river where I would seek them out at Foley Park. As many of my fellow classmates (who were observing other species) know, tracking down a certain animal at a certain time is often frustrating. I have had the pleasure of taking several walks without spotting any of the geese (though I have always been able to find something to write about in my nature journal). But, ever since I completed this assignment, Canada geese seem to be haunting me, popping up where I least expect to find them.

This morning was a perfect example of such a find. On my way back to campus after depositing load #2 of my stuff from Dartmouth at my house, I drove by Maple Leaf Farm, my favorite childhood hangout. I have been in love with this farm’s “moo moo cows” since as long as I can remember. So naturally, as my family and I passed the farm field in the car, we had to stop to say “hi” to my favorite friends. My mom immediately pointed out the calf that was sticking to its mother. As she and my younger sister fawned over the baby, my eyes rested on a group of grey-blobs in the distance that was all too familiar. Ah yes, I was looking at a flock of Canada Geese.

Adorable calf and cows featuring Canada Geese (grey blobs behind the cows)

I have literally been driving by this farm for nineteen years and have never seen a single goose. I guess now that I have been paying attention to them, they are paying attention to me by following my every move.

This flock only had 11 geese and they stuck to the outer part of the field, probably keeping their distance from the the other animals. The closest animal that they ventured to was a baby goat, who couldn’t harm a fly.

Baby goat & geese

Now many of you may be wondering, “Well Jenny, what’s the problem with the geese hanging out on the farm?” If you look carefully at the picture, the geese are not simply “hanging out,” they are actually feeding on the grass. “Eat, poop, repeat,” is what I like to call this observation. This is the most common (and annoying) cycle of the Canada Goose. These birds will often spend a majority of their day voraciously eating grass, only to poop it all out (up to three pounds a day, to be exact). So the geese are not only consuming the farm animals’ food supply, but they are also ruining the field with their overwhelming amount of poop! These poor farm animals! Get the geese out!

We screamed from the car, trying to scare them off the field. They didn’t move an inch. The only thing that our shrieks accomplished was attracting a nearby cow.

At least the cow came to say hi. If you look carefully, the geese are the blobs in the distance behind the cow.

I was promptly informed by my sister, a cow fanatic, that cows happen to be very curious and are drawn to many noises. This of course was proven as the cow continued to stare at us as we continued to yell. I guess my next research project should include more geese scare-tactics.

I am off to Beijing for the summer- let’s see if the Canada Goose follows me there!

Love & Geese

Jenny