Some Canadian Geese have stopped migrating and become year-round residents in southern climes where they hang out on golf courses, lakesides, and wetlands.
West of Highway 101 in Silicon Valley is one of their habitats, where they freely use fountains and water features as their own special drinking and bathing facilities.
They are some of the only signs of rude life in the manicured suburban office parks, especially since they poop copiously everywhere.
Canadian geese are cool, and their public mating for life behavior is oddly encouraging.
Good thrivers and survivors!
ReplyDeleteI assume you know that the actual name of this grass processing species is the "Canada" goose? Some citizens of our northern neighbor feel strongly that they are maligned by our confusion about the name.
ReplyDeleteWhat I like about them is that they apparently have day care for their young. This time of year it is not unusual to see one pair of adults swimming along with 10-12 fuzzy chicks between them. I think they form groups larger than just the pairs to take care of the chicks.
For years over at Lake Merritt there was an oddball pair that seemed to be a black Canada goose and a swan. So maybe they can be kinky?
Dear Jan:
ReplyDeleteNo, I was not aware of the Canada/Canadian moniker controversy. And I heard they had made Lake Merritt their own personal guano patch, but not about the interspecies mating. Sounds like a great Hans Christian Andersen update.
I used to work in Oakland -- guess work is what leads us to these tidbits.
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