Odd??

[Hound dog]

I just took the girls out while feeding Rowdy his supper.

Loud and very low I here a flock of geese squawking/honking. I'm like wth?? I mean obviously very nearby. They quiet as we enter the yard......but then start up again even louder or it's another batch of them, was getting dark so sort of hard to tell.

They were flying South, not that I blame them it's 26 degrees. But shouldn't they already be there?? Struck me as odd because we had them moving out of the area really early this year.......I mean really early like late August because our weather was acting more fall like than August like.

Stranded geese just now getting to head south? Flying so low I think if Maggie had been inclined she could've jumped up and snatched one. (do they roost in trees?, no body of water near me) Fortunately for them she was trying to figure out what all that blasted honking squawking was instead of going into bird dog mode.

Strange.

 

[DammitJanet]

At night...well...it would be dusk...yeah they fly around then. They certainly should have been gone by now but who knows.

 

[Wiped Out]

Lisa,
I just saw some in Wisconsin the other day; I was surprised as well.

 

[Hound dog]

Well, then it's not just me. It's just confused geese I guess. LOL

 

[HaoZi]

Still have some here, too, and I was asking the same question.

 

[susiestar]

Geese are nasty and VICIOUS. Be very careful with the dogs because they will attack as a swarm and it can be ugly. The univ here has a pond and at one point they had to move ALL the geese away because they started attacking dogs. I saw them tear the koi out of a rottweiler - and they attacked first, no way could he or his owner fend them off. It took four college guys who were in the area and all came running to help the poor dog to get htem off. The geese did NOT have babies or eggs to protect and the dog was not bothering them at all, just walking wth his owner. Then they went for a little girl about 3 or so and the univ had to either find somewhere a long way away or kill them because they were just crazy vicious. the vet school and ag people had no idea why they were doing this, esp as they didn't have any babies to protect.

Be wary when geese are around.

 

[muttmeister]

I live under the main flyway for geese and cranes in the US. It is a big tourist business here. It is not unusual to see them at any time of year. The main migration is earlier, and the early birds will start coming back north in less than a month but we get flocks flying over all year. I guess some of them are procrastinators, just like some people.

 

[InsaneCdn]

Depends partly on their feeding grounds - if they have good eating, they will delay their trip south. For example - if a particular area was hit hard by hail, or early frost, there will be lots of grain availble for them, compared to harvested land.

 

[Signorina]

I'm in WI and didn't see the Geese until a few days ago - I heard them squawking and saw my first gaggle this year at the river. They're Canadian Geese - this IS south for them & I suspect they are transitioning further south as the cold gets bitter.

 

[Hound dog]

Signorina, you're probably right. I hadn't thought of it that way. lol

Susie, I detest geese. The only thing they're good for in my opinion is FOOD. If they'd have gone after my girls, Momma would've gone in for the shot gun..........no might hit the dogs.........ok I'd have fetched my slng shot. I've dealt with geese one on one trying to go after Nichole because she was feeding ducks and their babies bread. Actually, I've dealt with them many times, which is why I detest them so much. Why on earth our govt put them up as endangered is beyond me, those vicious things can most certainly take care of themselves. ugh

 

[DammitJanet]

I didnt know they were on the endangered list. You can kill up to 15 now. The one bad thing about shoot guess is that they mate for life so if you do happened kill one, you leave one poor goose a widow. Im not sure when the season starts though. I think before xmas because we did have a xmas goose one year. Tony has promised me if he ever does shoot them he will only kill an even number so the chances are better that he doesnt leave widows and widowers. LOL.

 

[InsaneCdn]

The "mate for life" thing is a bit of a myth. They are true to their mate, but they are known to take a second mate if the first one vanishes for long enough.

Swans, and I believe geese, made the endangered list because in the air, they can look a lot like sandhill cranes, which are truely endangered.