FEEDING GEESE
July 10, 2005
(I'm feeding Becky)
Geese will not remain in an area because you feed them and migrating geese migrate, duh!
Certain news articles and wildlife agencies advise us not to feed wildlife. They claim that we will do the animals more harm than good. They also claim that feeding wild animals will cause them to depend on us for food, causing them to lose the ability to forage and delaying their migration.
There is no scientific evidence for these wild claims.
We've been feeding geese for three years now and our experience contradicts the claims.
Geese will not remain in an area because they're being fed. Here are some examples to illustrate this fact to you:
- Last year, we fed about twelve nesting pairs from the end of March till mid-May. Due to an unusually heavy May snowstorm, many nests were destroyed. The pairs who were unsuccessful at starting a family left the nesting area immediately. We have no idea where they went to but we assume that they joined the molting flocks in another location. They left the area in spite of our feeding them.
- Several successful parents also left the nesting area the day after their goslings hatched. When we visited the nesting area the next day, they had vanished. Some of them ended up at the park pond a half-mile from the nest site. We have no idea where the other parents took their goslings. They, too, left the area in spite of our feeding them.
- All our geese migrated south when the first big snowstorm hit the city. In 2003, they migrated at the end of October. In 2004, they migrated at the end of November. The snowstorm blanketed their main food source: grass and waste grain. Even though we brought them food every single day, we were only providing their dessert, not their main course. After our geese migrated south, we observed that other flocks of geese stopped over in Winnipeg on their way south. Our geese were NOT the last to migrate even though we fed them. Besides, many goose articles and books mention that giant Canada geese will usually stay until it's marsh freezing cold.
- This year, Becky, an unmated goose, showed up at the nesting area April 1. We fed her that day. She showed up again April 4. April 5 was the last time we saw her. We assume she has flown to join the molting flocks. In spite of our feeding her, she only showed up three times in April.
- Frank, a gander that we've known for three years, showed up at the nesting site with his wife April 8, 2005. Since that date, we have not seen Mrs. Frank - we presume she's nesting. Frank has appeared only a dozen times since April 8, despite our visiting the area everyday, bringing grain. The day after his goslings hatched, the Franks left the nesting site, in spite of our feeding him.
- In The Geese of Beaver Bog, Dr. Bernd Heinrich writes about Peep, a goose that he raised from a gosling. This "domesticated" goose left Dr. Heinrich's home to join the wild flocks when she was about five months old. She returned with a mate two years later. Dr. Heinrich fed the pair and another pair during the breeding season and in spite of his feeding them, they left the bog. One pair left the bog because of a failed nesting attempt. The other pair left the bog to take their goslings to another pond about two miles away.
- The city of Rochester, Minnesota, promotes the feeding of Canada geese. On their Chamber of Commerce website, they invite you to "enjoy feeding the giant Canada geese" at Silver Lake. I contacted them and was informed that they have always invited people to feed geese. Over 30,000 geese winter in Silver Lake and almost all of them return to their northern homes in the spring.
We also learned that our geese, though tame toward us, remain wild and wary. Often, when we're with them, strangers walk up to join us. Our geese sound their warning honks and often dive into the pond in their effort to get away from the strangers. They don't come back up to us until the stranger has departed. Sometimes we meet friends at the park who decide to accompany us while we feed the geese. If our geese are in the pond, they swim toward us but stop at the shore, throwing uncertain glances toward our friends. It is only when our friends depart that they will come up to us.
Geese recognize particular people. We have often been surprised to be greeted by our geese when we're not in the usual park pond or nesting area, when we're among a lot of other people, and when we're not carrying any food. They fly or run up to us, honking their exuberant greetings, and extend their necks out to us, performing their bowing greeting ceremony, something they do toward fellow geese. There is no greater honor than to be accepted as their friend and to be treated as a fellow goose.
So why do Wildlife Agencies persist in this misleading propaganda?
Author Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson answers this question in The Pig Who Sang to the Moon: "What does it take to become everybody's favorite animal?" he asks. "You need to become acquainted up close."
The more you learn about geese, the more you will discover how lovable and adorable they are, and their lives will become important to you. The less you know, the less important their lives.
Wildlife agencies don't want you feeding geese and other waterfowl because they don't want you to become acquainted with them up close. They don't want you to realize that geese are wonderful, intelligent, sensitive, caring and lovable creatures. If you realize the humanity of geese, you will be outraged that the government promotes their legal murder and destruction. You will fervently oppose hunting.
In many cities across North America, wildlife agencies penalize the feeding of waterfowl while promoting and rewarding cruelty toward them (hunting, gassing, separating goslings from parents, butchering, etc.). Any logical and reasonable person should conclude that this is wrong.
Once you get to know these wild creatures, you will discover that they're no different from your pets. They care about their mates. They care about their young. They value their life. They're loyal to their friends, man or geese. They have emotions: joy, sorrow, jealousy, love, anger, desire. They know fear and they can feel pain. They are gentle, responsive creatures who need and desire your love and kindness.
What should you feed geese?
If you'd like to feed geese, bring them some cracked corn. That is their favorite grain and you can get it from a feed store. They're nutritious and low in protein. Some pet stores carry them in bulk bins but these are usually more expensive than those you get at a feed store.
Bread is high in protein and may cause a condition known as angel wing in goslings and molting geese. This condition will render the birds unable to fly. A goose that is unable to fly is unlikely to survive in the wild, especially in harsh climates.
Feed them away from walking paths. Some people do not like their poop and they are exposed to dangers from dogs, bikes, racing kids, skateboards, etc. Feed them on the grass close to the water but do not throw the cracked corn or any other food into the water. Uneaten food will sink to the bottom of the pond. In the heat of summer, the accumulated food can become toxic, causing a condition known as botulism, which has been known to kill pond animals.
We feed our geese mostly during the nesting period and just before they head south. When geese return from the south in mid-March, our city is usually covered with snow. There is no grass and ponds are frozen, which prevents geese from finding food. While nesting, geese lose weight because they're unable to leave their nests to find food. We feel that our supplemental food helps them out at that time. Before they head south, they go through a phase known as hyperphagia in which they need to eat a lot to store food and energy for migration and winter. We feed them a lot less during the summer as there is plenty of grass and water plants.
WHEN NOT TO FEED GEESE:
If your park has a NO FEEDING policy (indicated by signs posted throughout the park), for the sake of the geese, please DO NOT FEED THE GEESE! To me, these are indications of intolerance toward geese. Your feeding them will only provoke the park authorities to initiate cruel treatment toward them.
If your neighborhood begins to complain and discuss ways of getting rid of geese, please DO NOT FEED THEM. You and I know that your feeding is not the reason for their remaining at the park but we will have a hard time convincing people who believe in all the misleading propaganda spewed by the media and the government. Our feeding them at this time will only provoke anger and possibly cause our beloved geese to suffer from cruel treatment or even death.
Do geese gorge themselves on food?
No. From our observation, they walk away when they're full. Goslings rest or go to sleep after snacking on food, even when there's food lying around. This is why the production of foie gras (force-feeding of ducks and geese to produce a fatty liver gourmet food) is extremely cruel and brutal.
Once they get to know you, they will run, fly and swim to you with unmitigated joy. You will enjoy their company. You will see that every goose is an individual with his or her own personality. You may even give them names based on their looks or personalities. You will look into their beautiful eyes and you will see what I see: creatures of magnificent beauty who have been unfairly maligned by man; gentle, harmless, defenseless creatures who are being terrorized by government.
FEEDING THE GEESE
By Feng Sun Ph.D.
I am a bird lover and I began to feed Canada geese last year in Centennial Park (Howard County, Maryland) with commercial wild goose feed (such as cracked corn, wheat and Kaytee Wild Duck and Goose Food).
The park has a "Please do not feed the wildlife" sign. It is explained in the nearby bulletin that the wildlife's digestive systems are not designed for a human's food. I fed the geese with bird food only. The bulletin also states that if birds become dependent on being fed, they become less able to feed themselves and will multiply in an area that may not support their population. The bulletin says that such overcrowding causes destruction of habitat, pollution of the lake, and ultimately, disease and starvation.
However, according to research I’ve done and my experience, that is not the case. Canada goose populations are not established based on the availability of food supplied by people. Geese use more biologically relevant criteria in determining whether a region is suitable for them to carry out their daily or seasonal activities (Coalition to Prevent the Destruction of Canada Geese – www.canadageese.org ). My feeding experience exactly verifies that research result. Nowadays, there are usually only a few geese staying in Centennial Park although I fed hundreds of geese there during last winter and early spring.
The grass in the park has never been damaged by the geese even though, occasionally, there are flocks of migrating geese that feed on it. On land, Canada geese feed only on tender grass in the park. As soon as there is no abundant tender grass available, they stop feeding and leave the park until new, lush grass has grown again. It has been reported that a luxuriant growth of clover was found in a field on which the geese had fed before. It proved to the farmer's satisfaction that the alleged damage by the geese was imagined and not real. There was plenty of rain that particular spring which may have helped (Nova Scotia Museum). As a matter of fact, Canada geese are very aware of weather change, and their stop-off places are usually free of severe weather conditions. The arrival of the Canada geese in the northern regions of America has always been the signal that spring has come.
I have found that after geese feed on the wild bird food as a supplement to the food they find on their own, their feathers become shinier and more protective against bad weather, such as rain, snow and wind.
In addition to Canada geese, I feed various wild birds with pounds of seeds and grains daily in my balcony. These birds also become healthier after they feed on the bird food that I purchased for them. These wild birds bring to my family their graceful flight, beautiful songs, and touching moments, for example, of a male bird tenderly feeding his passionate female. Because of the birds' frequent stay in our nearby trees, there were just a limited number of cicadas during this year's cicada season. As a result, these trees suffered no damage from the cicada, and we were also free of the deafening sound from the bugs. I have also observed that the number of mosquitoes has been dramatically reduced since I began to feed the wild birds last summer. I realize now that healthy wild birds (including waterfowl) can play a big role in balancing our environment, improving people's quality of life, in addition to their loveliness.
Different from other birds, the majestic Canada geese have a high tolerance for people. Canada geese usually mate for life in the wild and are deeply devoted to one another. "Sagacity, wariness, strength and fidelity are characteristics of the Canada goose which, collectively, are possessed in the same degree by no other bird," wrote a naturalist many years ago. Geese are among the very few birds in which the family does not break up at the end of the breeding season; parents and their young raised during the summer have established strong family bonds and stay together almost a year. They migrate together in the fall in flocks containing many other family units. Each family stays together on the wintering grounds (Leslie Day).
The diet of this goose consists mainly of vegetation. It feeds on grass, rushes and water plants. Geese in the wild do eat seeds and grains, but to a lesser extent than plant matter. Watching and feeding wild ducks and geese adds to the enjoyment of many people's lives (Jim Mason). And my goose-feeding experience confirms that wild goose food is a welcomed and healthful addition to the natural diet of these birds.
After last winter's first snow, an injured goose limped in Centennial Park with the hind part of his body covered with blood. I scattered the grains to him and he enjoyed feeding on them very much. Three days later, the cut in his body healed and his feathers were free of the blood. He stayed in the park over the winter and he fed frequently on the grains that I poured to him. In the mean time, his injured leg made steady progress although it was a very cold winter. Before he flew away from the park last May, he could walk completely normally.
An orphaned gosling also arrived at the park during that time (goslings can be identified by their long peeping sound). He was lovely but a little timid initially. With the additional nutrition from the grains that I fed him, he successfully survived his first tough winter in Centennial Park (last winter was the coldest in 25 years). When he left the park last July, he already became a very friendly, strong and independent goose.
Early last spring, a pair of geese grazed on the bank of Centennial Lake. Unfortunately, the male goose had a crippled right leg and could only walk on his left leg. His mate stood by him loyally but the eyes of the male goose looked sad and watery. I scattered the grains to the injured goose and he immediately enjoyed the feeding. Two weeks later, miraculously, I found that he could use both his legs again although he still limped a little on the right leg. Days later, the recovered goose and his mate left the park, probably to fight for their old nesting place somewhere I do not know.
It is obvious that Canada geese enjoy wild bird feed as a supplement (not a substitute) for their own diet. And direct feeding from people has little or no effect on absolute regional populations of geese. A substantial portion of park-goers enjoy the thrill of interacting with wildlife by feeding waterfowl and consider it to be a legitimate park activity (Coalition to Prevent Destruction of Canada Geese). Some areas of New York State have passed strategic feeding laws giving municipalities the option of restricting the feeding of waterfowl to certain areas in parks where space permits. If public interaction with wildlife is maintained or increased, the public will naturally become more protective of it and less tolerant of wildlife killing. By pushing for feeding bans, government wildlife managers keep the public both physically and psychologically distanced from wildlife (Coalition to Prevent the Destruction of Canada Geese).
In August, I was fined $25 for feeding the geese in Centennial Park and the following week I was double-fined $50 for failing to cease feeding geese. I was notified that if I fed the geese in the park again, I would be immediately banned from the park, and if I failed to comply, I would be arrested. The officer even told me that Canada geese were not supposed to stay in Maryland because they are "Canada" geese. He insisted that commercial wild goose food harmed geese. I asked whether I could just feed the injured geese, and I was then told that I was not allowed to do so in the park.
If you would like to contact Dr. Feng and help him work on setting up strategic feeding areas, please e-mail wildwatch@verizon.net
One of our members, Keith Norris, wrote a long letter about our responsibility to animals. Here is a quotable reason for not exploiting or ignoring animals: “We should value all life.”
The C.A.S.H. Courier 2004 Fall/Winter Issue
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