The fog was low and dense as I walked near the coast yesterday. It created a silence and closed-in feeling that added soft weight to the intimacy of being alone – until loud honks and shrieks broke the mood. It was like being too close to a bad brass band warming up. I could see nothing as I spun around, unsuccessfully trying to get my brain’s direction-finding lobe to zero-in.
Then, almost over me, this sortie of cacophonic Canada Geese broke through the thick gray cover and showed me their butts:
They did a quick course correction, and disappeared again within seconds.
They apparently were migrating. However, reports indicate that an increasing number of Canada Geese born in Maine are not migrating. This has created issues.
Geese don’t migrate by instinct; they learn the pathways from elders. If they mature here, they and their following generations become non-migratory residents and have to survive our winters. If that survival drives them to suburban and urban areas, they often are considered to be aggressive (and messy) pests.
Leighton Archive Image
(Brooklin, Maine)