The Soap Yard

KarenGA · Veteran Member

Unwelcome Visitors

karenkfc · Senior Member

Ah, Karen, more likely they went to tell their friends...

Nesting time soon, hoping for your sake they don't come back!!

KarenK · Guru

Yesterday we went to a reenactment of the British retreat after the battles of Lexington and Concord (it's Patriot's Day here). Anyway, when they started shooting the muskets, all these Canadian geese took off and went honking overhead. Maybe we should have these reenactments more often!

meggie · Senior Member

I think we should declare them a delicacy and start selling them for pate or goose breast fillets (feeds 4). Think of the wonderful down filled pillows. The prospects are endless.

meggie · Senior Member

Oops, scrap the delicacy idea. I just realized Canada Geese are a protected species. You need a special licence to trap or shoot them. There's even a Hall of Shame for communities that try to rid themselves of the flying poopers.

http://www.hallofshame.lovecanadageese.com/

Where are Hopedale and Braintree MA?

KarenK · Guru

Not sure about Hopedale, but Braintree is south of me. The highway passes through it and there are lots of malls there, so it's pretty built up -- at least the part you see from the highway. I know geese don't mind development -- they were all over the industrial park where I used to work and I've seen them hanging out at the Burlington mall. They are pretty brazen, but their little babies ARE cute!

karenkfc · Senior Member

A PROTECTED species??? What kind of garbage is that?! The goose population is enormous. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

I was thinking about you Karen, on my drive to work this morning. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the geese wander around the busy roads and expect people to stop for them, or they try to take off but don't get high enough fast enough, and get hit by cars. There was a dead goose in the middle of my off ramp this morning.
Maybe if there weren't so many geese, the geese wouldn't leave the overpopulated areas that are appropriate for them, and move to inhospitable locations where they shouldn't be because it's too dangerous. They move into an industrial area under construction, with big heavy trucks that can't stop in time for the 36 babies being herded across the road!

Protected species? Next they're going to declare all the rats that infest the downtown area a protected species too!!

KarenGA · Veteran Member

So far (fingers crossed) the geese have not been back. But, I have not seen my ducks in the past few days either.

Last year we had a pair of mallards (beautiful male, brown female), and they had babies in our pond. Mama swam around with 9, babies, nope make that 8, what happened only 6, wow only 4, oops down to two, then she was swimming alone, then she was gone. Seems its tricky crying to cross the pond between the Bass, Moccasins, Hawks and Calmerans (Sp?).

Anyway, our pair came back this spring, but they only visit and beg for bread - which I generously offer - to DUCKS! I'm thinking they are planning to raise their brood in a more friendly environment, if such exists for ducklings.