Even though we ‘re vacationing in Florida, I am compelled to answer a blog reader who asked, “Can’t the geese fly over the fence?” in response to recent posts about the geese versus me. (See March 7 and March 5 for backstory.)
To explain, there is a fence around the pond in front of our home to deter geese from settling on the property. Without it, conditions are ideal for geese to nest, bring forth their young, and make life miserable for the humans who live on the pond.
Geese need unimpeded access from water to grass. Additionally, when the goslings are born the parents lose their ability to fly. It’s not because they’re concerned parents. Rather, it’s because they’re molting; that is, losing their flying feathers. It just so happens to coincide with raising their young who first learn to waddle, then swim, and finally fly. This process takes approximately seventy days.
I’m not a goose (although some might dispute this), but I suspect they know all this instinctively when they’re searching for a place to settle. Yes, they can fly over the fence now, but down the road their children won’t be able to. They won’t either. And it’s grass on the other side that’s for dinner. Since a goose is capable of eating four to five pounds of grass each per day (and defecating more than half of that daily) if there isn’t a path from water to the green buffet, then it’s not a good nesting place.
This is probably more than you wanted to know. Tomorrow I promise to leave this issue behind and offer some vacation tidbits.
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