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Forget all the speculations in this blog about the natural behavior of geese in NYC parks.
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That is because there is no such thing as "natural" behavior when the birds are annually rounded up and slaughtered in many NYC parks and are constantly harassed in other parks -- such as Central Park.
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Last night I was surprised when arriving to Harlem Meer in Central Park, to find Cago, once again alone and without the two young geese she had seemingly befriended over the previous few days and who willingly accepted her.
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I speculated that all the extra human activity of the Labor Day holiday -- including barbeques, fishing and off leash dogs -- might have spooked the two juvenile geese away. They had, after all, only been at the Meer a few days and were likely not accustomed to such heavy human activities as a major holiday presented.
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But, then I wondered why Cago did not leave with them?
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Cago can certainly fly at this point and the three geese has seemingly formed a bond -- albeit it a very short one over a matter of days.
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Bewildered by the surprising turn of events, I decided to return to Harlem Meer early this morning to get a better view of the situation and hopefully discover some answer.
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I got some "answer" all right. But certainly not what I ever would have guessed or anticipated.
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The first thing that struck when arriving at the Meer at 7 AM was how "empty" the lake appeared.
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I could make out a couple of small flocks of mallards in the middle of the water, but little else.
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Where are the four domestic ducks? I wondered.
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Because of their large size and the light coloring of the two blonde domestics, they are usually very easy to spot near the Dana Center.
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But I could not see them anywhere on the lake and then began to worry if something happened to them?
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Walking further around the lake, I then spotted one goose swimming alone in the water.
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I assumed the goose was Cago and continued walking.
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But, then I found Cago actually standing alone at the edge of the water on the west side of the Mere.
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Things were starting to seem really strange. -- like the twilight zone.
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Eventually, the lone goose from the water apparently spotted Cago and swam towards her.
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The two geese reunited and it was then I could tell by its smaller size, the "new" goose was a juvenile and likely one of the two that Cago had befriended over the previous few days.
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But, what happened to the other goose, I wondered?
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Nothing was making sense at that point -- and I was still looking for the four domestics.
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Just then, I noticed two maroon colored vans pulling into the Meer. They had canoes on top of them.
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God, this can't be!! I thought.
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But, it was.
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Geese Police. "Get the Flock Out" painted brightly on the sides of the vans.
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The vans pulled up in front of Cago and her juvenile goose friend at the edge of the water.
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Two men got out of one of the vans.
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But, before they could actually do anything, I walked up to them.
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"Surely you are not here to harass TWO geese on a lake!" I inquired.
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"Is that all there is here?" one of them asked.
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"Yes! Two PITIFUL geese. I have walked around the entire lake!"
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"Well, no, we would not bother them." came the answer.
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But I wasn't so sure.
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I then shared a little of Cago's personal story and how she had been alone on the lake since June.
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But, the men weren't interested in hearing that.
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"There are less than ten geese in this entire park!" I said, leaving open the question of exactly why the "get the flock out" guys were there in the first place.
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The fact is, there are NO "flocks" of Canada geese in Central Park right now and haven't been for weeks.
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I tried to remain polite and composed, but I was both, shocked and seething inside.
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Eventually, I bade the men "a nice day" but did not mean it and slowly walked away.
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Although moving away, I continued to watch the men and the vans.
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True to their word, both of the vans eventually moved away from Cago and her then "solo" goose companion.
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But, only one of the vans actually left the Meer. The other van remained as if waiting for "flocks" of Canada geese to suddenly drop from the sky.
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Around that point, both Cago and her younger protege left the embankment and swam away together to the middle of the lake.
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Not wanting to even acknowledge any emotion, I continued walking around the Meer still searching for the four domestics. I was actually on my second go around at that point.
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Finally, (just as I was about to panic), Carol, Connie, Cochise and Conner suddenly (and thankfully) appeared swimming leisurely on the lake.
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Apparently, they had been hiding out in some marshes all along.
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Its obvious by the low number of mallards at the Meer this morning, as well as the "hiding" behavior of the four flightless, domestic ducks, that early morning goose harassment is nothing new at Harlem Meer. (But, of course, it is not just "geese." This helps explain the disappearances of Hector, the swan this past spring, as well as the occasional egret, heron or cormorant that would sometimes be at the Meer).
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Harassment has been occurring all along. I just wasn't aware of it since the spring.
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Certainly I never thought harassment would be conducted on less than 10 geese in an 843 acre park. That it is, is absolutely shameful -- not only for the forever maligned and persecuted geese, but all other waterfowl as well.
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As for the mysteries of Cago and her attempted alliance with the two juvenile geese who showed up at the Meer this past week, all speculation and theory goes out the window in the face of known harassment.
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For sure, Cago is well used to harassment at this point (along with everything else that goes on at the Meer, including off leash dogs, fishing and even BBQs apparently). But, the other two geese were not accustomed to all that.
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Now, one of those two juvenile geese is missing and I have no idea exactly why.
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Shame on Central Park "Conservancy." The name is a joke under "Get the Flock Out!" circumstances like these.
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The question is, What "Flocks?" -- PCA
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