Winter Wonder Land -- Where Do the Geese Go?

Where do the geese go?  A question of constant wonder this winter.

Footprints on the icy Reservoir this past Saturday -- two days before another storm.

Bandy at Harlem Meer this past Saturday....waiting.

Geese taking off from Reservoir Sunday evening while the flying was still good.

Reservoir on Sunday, following snow storm. Bird empty and nearly entirely frozen.

Winter wonderland -- Harlem Meer.

New York City has become a winter wonderland this season.

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We wonder how much snow and ice is going to be added to that already on the ground and covering watercourses?

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We wonder if we will experience further "Polar Vortex" with temperatures plunging to single digits and wind chills below zero?

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And we wonder if this winter will actually come to an end -- let's say, by June?

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But, most of all, I wonder where exactly the geese, ducks and other water birds go when the watercourses they normally winter on transform into frozen sheets of ice?

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The latter is a question that has vexed my consciousness for some weeks now -- especially noting all the times the wintering Canada geese (who normally spend January and most of February hunkered down at the Jackie Onassis Reservoir in Central Park) have suddenly had to pack up and leave.

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There is little question that the geese seem to "know" or sense when matters are about to quickly go to hell weather-wise at least a day or two before they actually do. They generally fly out from the Reservoir while conditions are still reasonably mild and favorable.

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But where the geese (and other water birds) go for "shelter" from the type of storms we've been having all along the east coast (and even the south) is anyone's guess.

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Even large parts of the Hudson River have iced over causing the Coast Guard to work overtime with ice cutters trying to create passage for ships and boats.

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This past "Superbowl" weekend, the weather temporarily warmed up in New York City to balmy 40's and even 50's degree temperatures. 

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Geese began to trickle back to the Reservoir and by Sunday afternoon, most if not all of the roughly 300 wintering geese had cautiously settled down once more.

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But, no sooner had the geese returned when they began to organize themselves once again for take-off.

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I spent at least an hour just after the sun had gone down Sunday, listening to loud, excitable and constant honking amongst the many gaggles of geese on the semi-frozen water.  That kind of "chatter" and communication was sure sign that the geese were quickly gathering to soon fly out.

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Sure enough, one by one, the geese began to take off in their perfectly timed and highly organized flocks like airliners taking off from a runway.

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Usually the flying skeins consisted of 7 to 15 geese,  But, a few were as small as two geese or as many as 25,

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Many flocks stopped briefly at the North Meadow in Central Park  -- perhaps to graze a little --before taking flight again.

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But, where the geese ultimately went, I have no idea.

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I just know they left Central Park.

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Noting the brief return and departure of the Central Park wintering geese, it was not too surprising Sunday evening to go to Harlem Meer and discover that Bandy was gone.  The "loner" and banded Canada goose was seemingly left behind when her flock was presumably harassed out of the Meer by Geese Police a couple of weeks ago.

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I had been speculating all along that Bandy was waiting at the Meer for her family (or flock) to return and as soon as they did, she would rejoin them.

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I don't know for fact that actually occurred, but I am guessing -- and hoping that it did.

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It is usually not a bright future for a Canada goose without a family or flock.

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That we have had so many "loner" geese in Central Park over the past few years is seeming testament to human destruction and never ending harassment of these wondrous and courageous birds.

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Watching how deliberately and meticulously geese usually take off when flying on their own, it is more than apparent that when harassed, geese are forced to take flight in disorganized and even panicked fashion and this can often result in a goose being left behind (usually a younger goose).

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Hopefully, the geese can later reunite as is hopefully what occurred in Bandy's case.

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But, if the geese are migratory, that might not always be the case if the flock has simply moved on not to return to a harassment site.

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Nor can a reunion occur if the loner goose's mate or family has been wiped out. It is suspected that this occurred to Cago last summer when the loner female goose flew into Harlem Meer in late June. Having molted later than most geese and still flying in late June, Cago most likely survived a USDA WS cull that took out all her other family members.

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Since late last summer, there has also been a "loner" goose at the Boat Lake in Central Park.

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But, in this case, no reunion with mate or family has occurred. (Perhaps that is because this site is patrolled every day by Geese Police and if the goose family returned, they would be immediately harassed out.)

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My friend, Liliana monitors the goose she calls "Loner" everyday at the Boat Lake and reports to me.  

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Fortunately, for Loner, there is a mated pair of geese also at the Boat Lake who apparently are well accustomed to Geese Police and are not easily harassed out.

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The mated pair have begrudgingly "accepted" Loner into their space (as long as he keeps respectable distance), but it is speculated that arrangement is only temporary because of the current (non-nesting) seasons.

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When the gander of the pair wishes to mate again with his partner (usually in March), he will likely be relentless in kicking Loner out of the current cozy and convenient arrangement.

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Loner had better hope that there are some youthful, unpaired Canada geese that take up residence in the nearby Reservoir over the spring and summer. And even if that be the case, it will require many weeks before he might be accepted by them.

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It is not an easy life for loner geese.  They have to struggle for acceptance into established flocks and may have to spend many weeks and months being the "odd goose out" and lowest on totem pole.

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But, it is essential that all geese (and ducks) have family and/or flock, (regardless of hierarchal position) as they cannot ultimately survive for long as "loners."

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Cago's ultimate broken heart death last October is seeming proof of that.

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And this winter, we seem to have also lost "Mister, Mister" the mallard with broken wing at Harlem Meer.

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It wasn't the broken wing that ultimately killed Mister as he had survived with it since the early spring. Nor, was it, I believe, the frigid weather -- at least directly.

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But, alone on a frozen lake when all the other water birds had left (or, in the case of geese, been harassed out), Mister ultimately became an easy and highly visible target for an off leash, predatory dog or even predatory bird.

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Whatever the case, I have not seen Mister in well over a month and am quite sure at this point, he is dead.

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This is the first winter in the years I (and my friend, Liliana) have been observing waterfowl in Central Park that we have knowingly lost a duck or goose.

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But, for sure (especially realizing Mister's demise) had the four flightless domestic ducks from Harlem Meer and the three domestics from the Boat Lake not been rescued and responsibly placed this past November, it is highly unlikely they would have survived a winter like this on frozen lakes and as easy targets for predators.

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That is the one aspect of this winter, that I don't "wonder" about at all. -- The wisdom of getting those vulnerable ducks out of Central Park before the "iceman cometh."

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But for all the wild geese and ducks who DO miraculously survive, the question of where they go to beat the elements of a particularly brutal winter throughout most of the country is one of constant wonder.

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I just know that amongst their ranks are some really bitchin,' top notch weather forecasters -- or fortune tellers.

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Something tells me there are few things in life the geese actually wonder about.

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They just stoically  pack their gear when the going gets tough and fly out before the punches. -- PCA

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