Monday, March 09, 2009

Goose Wars

Honk! Honk! Honk! Squeeeeeeeee. Crack!

Ahhhh. The sounds of spring here on the pond.

Spring is getting ready to sprung, and geese are looking for places to nest. My neighbors are determined it won't be in OUR back yard. Once again, their campaign includes flares and gunshots at dawn and intense lights in the night. My poor little doggie is a nervous wreck. If she hears a goose honk, she runs for the closet. She knows what's going to happen next.

When I moved here, we had 6 or 8 semi-permanent geese, one resident pin duck, a heron, and a muskrat to entertain us. A neighbor shot the muskrat under cover of darkness and the crazy campaign has driven off the heron and the pin duck. A few Canada geese are stubborn enough to keep trying to land, but that's a tough gig here on the pond.

Not long ago, a neighbor sent around a warning to every house: don't feed or encourage those dangerous wild animals. Now, I ask you--why buy a house on a pond if you don't want to be exposed to "wild animals"?

Strikes me that humans are the wildest animals of all. We create situations bound to distress us and then fight against the things we perceive as problems or threats.

If you don't like geese, don't buy a house on a pond surrounded by cornfields--whatever the geese or the cornfields may be in your life.

8 comments:

Carrie Wilson Link said...

Couldn't agree more. Pretty sure the wild life is not those people's biggest problem.

Anonymous said...

What your neighborhood needs is a cougar or two.

But I don't suppose that would be any easier on Cassie's nerves.

Deb Shucka said...

Yikes! That's still going on?!? Is it legal for them to be shooting like that? Maybe it's time for you to move to a place where people like water and geese. . . . :)

Michelle O'Neil said...

: )

Anonymous said...

Um... I suspect this entire campaign is illegal... can you subtlely call attention to the situation by contacting a local news station or environmental agency? Flares? guns? sounds like harassment of more than just wildlife!

Jerri said...

You know, Anonymous, I thought the same thing. It got so bad yesterday that I called the police non-emergency line.

Apparently, these guys have permission. At the very least, the police know it's going on and have no objection.

Like I said, people are the wildest animals.

kario said...

I wonder what it is they see in those geese that challenge them so much. Too bad it's buried so deep the only solution they can come up with is to shoot at the poor birds.

Wildlife, indeed.

daringtowrite said...

Yikes! Sadly scary neighbours!