Canadian Geese Wintering Nearby

A number of Canadian geese has been wintering where I live in northeastern Kansas. They are most visible around dusk when groups of ten or so can be heard and seen overhead as they return from their expeditions for food. I was lucky to find several hundred grouped together on Friday. When I returned to the same place on Saturday, all but ten or so were out finding enough food to withstand the night of snow that was forecasted. Many of them were frightened when I approached them on Friday and took to the air just long enough to circle overhead once or twice before coming back.



How someone can find pleasure in hunting Canadian geese is beyond my comprehension. I’m reminded of that scene in Fly Away Home when the geese following the ultralight airplane in their migration south are shot at by hunters. I think the geese have learned that there is a certain amount of protection in living near human dwellings as opposed to those bodies of water that are secluded and seemingly offer sanctuary because of their distance from humans.