Yesterday morning, we had a good sign: a flight of 42 Canada Geese were resting and eating in Great Cove and on its shore.
They’re gone now, possibly continuing north to the country for which they’re named. They’re magnificent birds, especially when they rise and circle high, honking and forming a V-shaped formation.
Leighton Archive Image
Even better, when a mating pair of them flies low in close-order drill to strafe you, you don’t know whether to dive to the ground or stand and marvel.
Leighton Archive Image
An increasing number of Canada Geese born in Maine are not migrating, which has created issues. Geese don’t migrate by instinct, they learn the pathways from older leaders when they’re young. If they mature where they’re born, they and their following generations become non-migratory residents and have to survive our winters. If the winter survival drives them to urbanized areas, they often are considered to be aggressive (and messy) pests.
Leighton Archive Image
(Brooklin, Maine)