9-11 Reflections -- Of Geese, Elections and Empty Parks

Cago at Harlem Meer in Central Park. Alone, again -- Not so naturally.

 

9-11.  Day of Darkness and Night of Light

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9-11:  One of the darkest days in American history and certainly the most horrific and traumatic for New York City.

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For me, it represents a kind of awakening through the otherwise terror and uncertainty.

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It was on that terrible night that, wandering around Central Park like a zombie with my one dog at the time, I noticed seemingly for the first time, ducks and geese swimming peacefully on the waters of the Jackie Onassis Reservoir.

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I stood for a long time just listening to their honks and quacks pierce the eerie, still silence and watching then move like flowing poetry on the water.  The skies above were deathly quiet and empty as all airline and other traffic in or out of New York City had been suspended and there was the strange smell of burning metal in the air.

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But, somehow watching the geese and ducks freely flow and communicate on the water as if nothing had happened gave me fleeting sense of brief comfort and the feeling that despite all the loss, assault and untold horror, eventually, everything would be OK.

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Real life can be exceeding cruel and punishing.  But, somehow, through it all, nature and human decency prevails.

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I will always be grateful for that feeling of hope, renewal and temporary healing the geese and ducks gave me that darkest of all nights.

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Post Primary Day Realities

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To no one's surprise (other than perhaps, Christine Quinn) results from yesterday's primaries in New York City were pretty much as predicted in polls.

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De Blasio (D) and Lhota (R) both won big, their primary bids for Mayor.

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Scott Stringer beat out a tarnished, but personally well funded, Eliot Spitzer for Comptroller and Gale Brewer beat out a number of candidates for the democratic nominee for Manhattan Borough President -- a position she is sure to win this November.

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The one thing learned throughout this elective process (especially for mayor) is that negative campaigning and the politics of personal destruction work.

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One can effectively argue that mayoral candidate (and heavily favored to win), Christine Quinn deserved much of the criticism she got.

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But, it is hard to argue that any candidate deserves the targeted, personal and relentless daggers of vitriol and destruction that were hurled at one of the first serious female contenders for mayor in New York City.

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I personally cannot recall anything quite like it  -- except perhaps similar (but lesser degree) campaigns waged against Hillary Clinton when she ran for President in 2008.

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For her part, Christine Quinn appeared to be in much denial throughout the campaign and did not seem to take seriously or confront, the scurrilous attacks against her.  Perhaps she was advised to ignore or "rise above it" all, but if so, that was a mistake.

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Quinn's tendency to say, "When I am mayor" in recent debates came off as arrogant and delusional -- especially in the face of her plummeting in polls.

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I personally did not understand why Quinn didn't parade her two rescued dogs in TV commercials, as de Blasio put forth his kids in order to appeal to various constituencies.

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But, perhaps it would not have made significant difference.

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One thing for sure:  You cannot stick to tired, old, "positive image" campaign formulas when being attacked on all sides and from every direction.

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Perhaps in fear of being further labeled, "bully" or "bitch" Quinn tried to adapt a syrupy sweet image that did not quite mesh with her otherwise fighting spirit -- something that in politics, can be admired when done for the right reasons and under the right circumstances.

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In any event, Quinn is done now.

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De Blasio will surely be NYC's next mayor.

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And though many others celebrate victory for this man running on a seemingly divisive platform of "Tale of Two Cities" and vague, pie in the sky promises, I remain skeptical in judgment.

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I believe that four years from now we will still have goose slaughters in New York City, (assuming there are any geese left to slaughter),  horses will still be hauling carriages filled with tourists and two of New York City's five boroughs will still be without full service animal shelters.

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One of the others things learned throughout this campaign: Promise them anything and hope that they have short memories.

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Meanwhile, the one candidate who has previously stood up for the protection of geese in New York City, won her bid for Public Advocate, beating out four other candidates for the majority of the vote (36%) last night.

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But, Tish James didn't really "win."

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Since failing to garner 40% of the vote,  City Councilwoman, James will be in a runoff against second place finisher and State Senator, Daniel Squadron three weeks from now.

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http://www.ny1.com/content/news/188561/james--squadron-set-for-public-advocate-runoff

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Squadron has the endorsement of popular, US Senator, Chuck Shumer (D) who has been a long time supporter of goose culls in New York City.

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Councilwoman, James on the other hand, was a featured and passionate speaker against goose culls in NYC during two rallies for the geese in 2010 and 2011 -- including one in front of City Hall.

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It is true that even should she eventually win the office of Public Advocate, Tish James would not have personal power to stop goose culls in NYC.  But, she can continue to be a political voice for our forever tormented geese and a more powerful one than now.

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Should James ever succeed in eventually becoming mayor of NYC (though that is doubtful) I personally am confident goose massacres in NYC would finally come to an end -- presuming we still have any resident geese left.

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One cannot help but wonder now, if James had the full endorsement from animal advocacy groups, that she would not have been forced to compete in a runoff now?

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She had only needed a few more percentage points to win the nomination outright.

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I am not proud of many of the actions (and non-actions) of my fellow animal advocate colleagues throughout this election process.    

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Chalk it up to lesson learned.

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The Twelve Year Anniversary  -- Where Have All the Geese Gone?

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"Presuming we still have any resident geese left in New York City" (during next mayoral run).

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On this twelfth anniversary of 9-11, one of the things that has significantly changed in a dozen years, is that we no longer have any geese "flowing" through and around the Reservoir in Central Park.

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In fact, there are barely any geese in Central Park at all.

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The only one I know of -- Cago at Harlem Meer -- has recently been deserted by the two geese she had befriended and who had accepted her over a period of a couple of weeks.

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Once again the same old questions:

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Did the geese leave on their own or were they harassed out of the park?

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Why did they suddenly leave?

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Why did Cago not leave with them?

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I don't know the answers to any of the questions and can only present guesses and speculation.

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I only know for sure, that what gave me sense of solace, hope and comfort on that dark day so many years ago is all but vanished from Central Park and many parts of New York City now.

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The geese provided solace and comfort and we provide torment and death to them in return.

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Sometimes it does not feel good to be human.  -- PCA

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Can the Geese Have a Good Political Day?

Cago at Harlem Meer this morning.  Little does she know that the one political candidate to courageously speak up for her and her brethren has been the one least touted by "animal advocate" groups and organizations.

Before heading to the primary polls this morning, there was still one political race I was undecided on.

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The one for Manhattan Borough President.

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Yes, I had watched one televised debate among the democratic candidates, but other than differing on whether to build a waste transfer station on the Upper East Side, there seemed little to distinguish one from the other.

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And so I walked up to campaign representatives handing out fliers on the street this morning and asked some questions.

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The campaign workers represented Gale Brewer and Julie Menin.

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"Can you tell me where Ms. Menin (or Ms. Brewer) stands on animal protective issues?"

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All the campaign workers were stunned with the question as if they had never heard it before. 

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And so I clarified:

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"I am talking about things like pets in housing legislation and also the issue of Canada goose roundups and slaughters in NYC."

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One of the two young women working for Menin made a call on her cell phone to the central office, but was unable to get any information.

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"If you give me your email address, I will further inquire and get back to you," she told me.

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I provided my email and told her I much appreciated any information.  

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When speaking with an older representative for Brewer, it was similar experience.  The polite woman could not answer any specific questions on animal protective issues, but told me Brewer was a "very hard worker for progressive causes."

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I interpreted the "progressive causes" as code for extremely liberal. 

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"Well, you know this district is politically moderate -- as I am," I replied. "Thanks, but I will have to figure this out."

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Returning home, I did find a response email from the Menin representative:

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"Good Afternoon,

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I tried to find out what I could about Julie Menin's stance on animal
rights.  In speaking with one of her campaign managers, I was told that
she is indeed a supporter of animal rights.

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On the topic of pets/housing in particular, I was not able to secure
specifics.  I will say however, that Julie is committed to preserving
the character of each of Manhattan's unique neighborhoods, and has
proposed an innovative plan to reform land use policy, to guarantee
that when new development projects proceed, they create more classroom
seats, more affordable housing and more open green space.  By planning
for Manhattan's population growth and implementing a borough-wide
master plan, we can comprehensively address the needs for more open
space and improve our transportation infrastructure, while operating in
an environmentally sustainable manner.

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I also thought I'd mention something I think is particularly important
to many New Yorkers.  Julie led the charge for the city and state to
mandate life-saving epi-pens on all New York ambulances to protect
children and adults who suffer from life threatening food allergies.

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Thank you for your consideration of Julie Menin for Manhattan Borough
President.  If you would like to learn more, please visit

www.juliemenin.com." 

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I replied back:

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 "Hi Ms. XXXXX,

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Thanks for getting back to me.

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Unfortunately, a vague, the candidate "is a supporter of animal rights" doesn't say a whole lot as it lacks specifics.

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I asked specific questions pertaining to pets in housing and goose slaughters throughout city parks.  (I did not ask about the non-animal issues you write of.)

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Since you do not cite a specific animal protection issue that Menin has supported, I have to sadly conclude, there aren't any.

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As such, I have decided to support and vote for Jessica Lappin as she has represented my district (which is politically moderate) and so far, we have not had goose slaughters in Central Park or Upper East Side (though they have occurred in other parts of Manhattan).

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Menin and her supporters should know these issues are important.  Indeed, they have helped to defeat Christine Quinn as she has been sadly remiss on most animal protective legislation.

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We are tired of lip service and lack of serious attention to animal abuse issues in NYC. The times are changing.

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Thanks anyway for getting back to me.    But, in the future, I suggest that when asked specific question on issues, stick to the specifics and don't try to "sell" the questioner on irrelevant matters.

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Thanks,

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Patty Adjamine"

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Admittedly, my response isn't particularly gracious or tactful, but it is honest.

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I am tired of politicians and their representatives ducking questions and pointing to other matters -- totally unrelated --  of which they were not asked.   

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Following the email exchange, I did go out and vote.

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And although Gale Brewer was endorsed by one animal advocacy group, I considered that she has represented the West Side in the past and the West Side (especially Riverside Park) has been the site of numerous goose massacres.

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I thus voted for Jessica Lappin for the reasons cited in the Menin email.  

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Since the Upper East Side of Manhattan is one of the few areas in NYC to still be free from USDA WS goose massacres, I have thus supported all the candidates from this district whether they deserve actual credit for that or not.

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Finally, speaking of political endorsements, one becomes skeptical of these for reasons cited largely in yesterday's blog post.

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There seems to be much "jumping on bandwagons" without a whole lot of actual evidence to a candidate's sincerity or actual track record on animal issues and there is a whole lot of attacking despite a seeming lacking of actual lobbying efforts.

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My personal experience for years is that when I bring up animal issues to politicians or their representatives, they always seem to react with shock and awe -- like I am speaking a foreign language.

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That tells me that some calling themselves the political arm of Animal Rights haven't even made the case for Animal Welfare, much less "Animal Rights."

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What has completely stunned throughout this whole election cycle is the general silence of the animal protection movement on one of the few candidates to actually stand up for animal protection -- specifically, Letitia "Tish" James who attended and spoke at not one rally for Canada geese, but two.

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Letitia James is now in a very tough battle for the position of Public Advocate of NYC.

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Certainly, there has been no better political advocate for the geese of NYC who have been so ruthlessly and relentlessly maligned, persecuted and slaughtered in New York City.

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Though Ms. James may be more political liberal on most issues than I, her willingness to stand up and be counted for the geese when it was not politically advantageous for her wins and deserves full and enthusiastic support.

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Indeed, the one lever I had no trouble pulling down this morning and was in fact, proud to do so, was for Letitia "Tish" James.

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Even if all my other candidate choices lose, I am hopeful this is the one that makes it.

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If so, it will (finally) be a good day for the geese.   -- PCA

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American Politics: "I Am Woman" -- Kick Me Hard

"I am woman. Hear me roar!"  That may be motto of Mama Matilda mallard at Harlem Meer in Central Park, but not of American politics.

 "I am woman.  Hear me roar."

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Those old enough will recognize the above words from the Helen Reddy song, "I Am Woman" of 1975. 

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The song turned out to be a kind anthem for the then burgeoning women's movement in America and other parts of the world.

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Nearly 40 years later, women have come a long way.

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But we have yet to elect a woman President, Vice President or in New York, a woman Governor or Mayor of New York City.

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Its not because women have not run for these high political offices. 

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But, when they have, in nearly every case, the so-called "roar" has been turned into a label depicting the woman as "bitch," "bimbo" or "bully."

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In 2008, women across the land took hope that we might finally have a woman President when Hillary Clinton ran for the highest office of the land.  

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No one was better experienced or qualified for the job than the person who had spent 8 years in the White House as First Lady and served more than one term as Senator of one of the most populated states in the nation.

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But, something happened during Hillary Clinton's run for the White House.

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Though initially favored to easily win the Democratic primaries and nomination, Clinton quickly found herself upstaged by a charismatic, bright, young man of color who though having less than one term in the US Senate, talked a great game of "anti war" and "inspired" hope and change.

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Debasing, personal campaigns -- particularly on the Internet -- were waged against Hillary Clinton labeling her everything from "bitch" to "hypocrite" for "standing by her man" Bill Clinton for political reasons when he cheated on her.

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Millions of women like myself watched in despair as our one viable candidate for the first woman President was taken down piece by piece and pant suit by pant suit during the Democratic primaries.

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It seems the whole country was swept along in some kind of tidal wave of "hope and change" and Clinton ultimately went down to defeat despite her substantial credentials and qualifications.

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That same year, supposedly in effort to appease the female vote, Republican candidate for President, John McCain chose as his running mate for Vice President, Sarah Palin, the then Governor of Alaska.

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Putting aside Palin's obvious lack of credentials, intellect or experience for the job of Vice President (or President), the media and Internet campaigns against her were particularly nasty, derisive and personal.  

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They were not unlike similar tear downs and dissections of Geradine Ferraro who ran as the first woman candidate for Vice President in 1984.  Ferraro took much of the blame for Mondale's huge defeat to then President Reagan and it seemed America was simply not ready for a woman Vice President.  

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But, are we ready for a woman Governor or Mayor of New York City?

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Apparently not.

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When the race for New York City mayor began early this year, City Council speaker, Christine Quinn was substantially ahead in polls and seemed a shoe-in to win both, the democratic primary and the mayor ship.

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But, in many ways, we see a kind of repeat of 2008.

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Even before the year began, there were Internet groups set up with the soul purpose to "Defeat Quinn." 

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One organization even named itself, "Anybody But Quinn" as if insinuating that even a Charlie Manson would be preferable to the potentially first woman mayor of New York City.

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All of this is not to suggest that women should (in Bill de Blasio supporter, Susan Sarandan's words), "vote their vaginas."

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But, it is to say and point out that the campaigns waged against women candidates for some of highest offices of our land are particularly offensive, debasing, personal and quite frankly, in this writer's view, sexist.

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It is for example, hard to think that if groups were organized with titles, "Anybody But Thompson" (African American candidate for Mayor) or "Anybody But Liu" (Asian candidate) charges of racism would not ensue.

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But, is it apparently OK and acceptable to wage hate campaigns against women candidates.

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As a life long supporter of justice for animals, it is particularly disturbing to me that some of the most vicious attacks against Quinn have come from self describe, "animal advocates."

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Perhaps if Quinn had orchestrated a massacre of more than 1,000 animals as Senator Kirsten Gillibrand did against Canada geese in New York City, some of the vitriol might be understandable and warranted.

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But, she didn't.

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Nevertheless, ads have been run against Quinn labeling her as an "Animal Hater"  -- this despite the fact that Quinn and her wife have and obviously love their two rescued, (large) mixed breed dogs, one of which is even black.  (Large black dogs are the hardest for shelters and rescue groups to adopt out.)

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Last week an ad ran on Facebook proclaiming that, "With Every Vote for Quinn, God Kills a Kitten."

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It is true that as City Council Speaker, Quinn leaves something to be desired in terms of animal justice and advocacy as she has been generally weak on most animal protective legislation.  

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Then again, most politicians in powerful positions are weak on animal protective legislation as these issues fail to register in polls and are never brought up in political debates.  

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But, that is primarily fault of animal advocates who, for the most part, fail to lobby political representative on these issues and fail to pressure media for greater exposure and discussion of animal cruelty issues.

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Candidate and now front runner for Mayor (and favorite of most animal advocates) Bill de Blasio voted "No" to a bill that would have banned horse carriage rides in NYC when he was in the City Council.

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When asked about this last week, de Blasio (who now says he would favor a carriage horse ban if "vintage cars could replace the horses") claims he has "evolved" since "learning" more about the issue.

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While personally skeptical of this explanation, if even remotely true, it indicates animal advocates have not done a suitable job of successfully lobbying City Council members and the City Council Speaker for animal justice.

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One thing it does not indicate is that mayoral candidate, Christine Quinn is an "animal hater" or even that Bill de Blasio is some kind of "knight on a white horse for animals."  He isn't.   Rather, de Blasio is simply another politician who has not to this point, (like Obama in 2008) held high and powerful office long enough of which to be criticized on.

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Perhaps the biggest issue that Quinn has been nailed to the proverbial cross on is that she helped to facilitate Bloomberg's successful run for third term Mayor. (This, despite voters having previously voted in favor of term limits).

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But, Quinn did not "give Bloomberg a third term."

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The voters did that.

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One can of course criticize a City Council Speaker for working or making deals with a somewhat unpopular mayor, but the fact is, politics makes strange bedfellows.  Lots of things are done for political expediency.

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Contrast that to the gridlock in Washington where Congress and the President can't even seem to agree on the weather or what to do during a storm.

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The mayoral primary is tomorrow and as a (still) registered Democrat I have opportunity to vote in the Democratic primary.

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Contrary to Ms. Sarandan's admonitions, I will in fact, be "voting my vagina."

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This, knowing full well that I will probably be long dead before a woman is finally elected Mayor or Governor in New York or President of the United States. 

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Others may deny, but sexism is alive and well in American and NYC politics.

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"I am Woman.  Kick me hard," the new motto for 21st America.  -- PCA

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Wars and Convictions Without Trials

Canada geese aren't the only ones we convict and launch wars on without trials.

Shock and Awe

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Weapons of Mass Destruction

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Coalition of the Willing

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Limited Engagement

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Mission Accomplished

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Does anyone else have the feeling of deja vu?

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Only this time the "selling" and cheerleading for war in the Mid East is coming from a so-called, "anti war" President and the "Coalition of the Willing" is, so far, a coalition of two -- France and us.

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Even the Brits are taking a powder on this one.

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It is truly disingenuous when certain politicians such as Diane Feinstein (D) California go on TV and smugly say that the American public "doesn't know what we do" regarding intelligence that the Syrian regime "gassed it own people."

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True, American citizens may not have access to the so-called, intelligence.

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But we have memories:

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Memories of Colin Powell going before the UN to present all the "intelligence" and "evidence" that Sadam Hussein had "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq.

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Memories of George W Bush warning of "mushroom clouds" over NYC if we didn't immediately embark on a war in Iraq.  

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Memories of promises of "limited engagement" and signs of "Mission Accomplished" on military ships mere weeks after the war in Iraq began.

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Memories of hundreds of thousands of lives lost and more than a trillion American dollars spent in both, Iraq and Afghanistan in"missions" that in fact, took more than ten years. 

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Memories of soldiers coming back from war with missing limbs and life impacting PTSDs.

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And though for the most part, we have finally left Iraq and Afghanistan, the bombs still continue nearly everyday as warring factions and religions within these countries attack each other.

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Religious wars in the Middle East have been occurring for the past 1300 years. Do we seriously believe that America blood, bombs and trillions of tax dollars will change that?

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And should we "succeed" is forcing Al Assad from power, who and what will take over in Syria?   Al Qaeda? The Muslim Brotherhood? (That has worked out real well in Egypt.)  An Ayatollah?  (Worked out real well in Iran.)  Or maybe Hezbollah?

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What if one of our bombs hits a cache of chemical weapons, thereby releasing them into the environment?   What about the "human shields" whose images of dying children as result of American bombs are likely to end up on YouTube?

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And what about another million refugees fleeing the country and spilling into neighboring nations?  Whose responsibility is it to feed, house and medically treat them?

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Relating these wars we embark on in the Middle East to the goose "wars" we conduct in our own country, there are certain commonalities:

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1 -- Manufactured, inflated or misinterpreted "evidence" against the "offenders."

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2-- War or killing as first resort, rather than last.

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3 -- Absence of a defense or the other side of the story.

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It is interesting that before crimes of murder can be brought to trial in civilized nations, both a prosecution and defense spend months (and sometimes years) gathering and preparing evidence.

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Insufficient or unprovable evidence for a murder trial results in either no trial at all or plea bargains.

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If a trial actually occurs, both the prosecution and defense are allotted proper and equal time and opportunity to present their cases. 

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A jury then decides the verdict and course of action.

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But, in the case of the latest Syria "conviction," we have been presented with no actual evidence on who exactly committed the murders of unleashing chemical weapons against civilians and we have only heard one side of the story.

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Moreover, President Obama announced military strikes on Syria a mere 15 days following video footage of children dying on the streets.

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Imagine if we conducted murder trials and obtained convictions 15 days after the murders?  Imagine if no defenses were ever presented?

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(As a side note, Its interesting that when humans are gassed, we refer to it as a "red line."  When animals are gassed, we refer to it as "euthanasia.")

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One understands the importance of a kind of world order that doesn't  tolerate the unleashing of chemical weapons or other WMD's into environments in order to commit genocide.

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But, the world isn't with the President on Syria. Nor is the UN, NATO or even the Brits.

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Perhaps it is the Coalition of the Unwilling because law and order simply doesn't work this way.  -- 15 day trials and convictions.

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The President has of course, back-peddled over the past few days and has recently punted the War in Syria ball to the Congress to vote on (presumably to give himself some kind of cover and share the blame).

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But, vote of the Congress is irrelevant as the Obama administration claims it has the authority to launch bombs and air strikes in Syria with or without the approval of Congress.

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From that standpoint, the Congress should take a page out of the Obama playbook and simply vote, "Present." (That is if they care about keeping their jobs.)

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Its clear the American people don't want another war in the Mid East.

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We have memories and don't enjoy this sense of deja vu. -- PCA

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Get the Thugs and Criminals Out -- Not the Geese

Cago (left corner) reunited again last night with Goose 2 (right) and Goose 3 (far top right) on sentry duty.

On the same day that the Geese Police were scouting the Boat Lake in Central Park seeking geese to harass, a Boat Lake vendor was robbed by a knife wielding thug and had his cell phone and tips stolen:

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 http://online.wsj.com/article/APf3a0a2f46df6419aab041e9bc9c9423a.html

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Perhaps it is critical to rid our parks of all geese so that criminals not slip on goose poop when making their hasty get-a-ways. -- It's important to get priorities straight.

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I did not hear back from Central Park Conservancy yesterday on the matter of goose harassment as presumably they are busy addressing the bad publicity of increased robberies in Central Park this year.

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Nevertheless, its a bad sign and is suggestive that goose harassment will continue even though currently, there are only 5 known geese in all of Central Park's 843 acres.

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Yep, those knife wielding geese are definitely a "problem."  Hold on to your cell phones and pantaloons!

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It is clear that one person complaining about the mysterious and baffling harassment of the little waterfowl in Central Park is not enough to have any kind of impact. 

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I am, after all, just a "crazy bird lady" who prefers geese and ducks to robbers and rapists. (Imagine that?  How dare I?) -- Easy to write off.  

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Seeking to avoid unpleasant confrontations, I returned to Harlem Meer late last night as opposed to early morning.

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I really did not want to play "hide and seek" again with the four domestic (flightless) ducks  who apparently hide in the weeds anytime Geese Police shows up nor did I want to encounter the "Get the Flock Out" boats and vans again.

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Thankfully, all was peaceful at the nearly midnight hour and all the wildlife was OK. Few people around and only the sounds of crickets and a few quacking ducks to liven the still night air.

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Goose #3 (who had been AWOL the other morning) had returned to the fold last night.

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(I shall herewith refer to the two young geese who showed up to the Meer last week and quickly befriended Cago as "Goose 2" and "Goose 3" for identification purposes.  I am not sure of their sexes to assign actual names).

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When arriving to the Meer last night, all three geese were roosting together in the fenced-in grassy area by the Dana Center -- which was very good to see.

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But, Goose 3 is far more vigilant, nervous and wary than Cago and Goose 2 put together.

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For the entire time I was there, Goose 3 remained like a sentry, standing on the edge of the embankment and peering nervously over the water as if expecting a big green monster to suddenly jump out -- or more accurately perhaps, "Geese Police" boats and dogs.

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He never budged an inch nor even turned his head to look around.

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Meanwhile, Cago and her new pal, Goose 2 came to me in greeting and appeared to be normal and of good cheer.

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It is still a mystery why Cago did not leave with Goose 2 and Goose 3 when they left the Meer on Labor Day.   

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Whether the two skittish geese took to the skies because of heavy human activities on the holiday or goose harassment is not known, but Cago stayed, despite seemingly having already bonded with Goose 2 and Goose 3.

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One can consider several possibilities:

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1 -- Whatever the noises, harassment or other "threat," Cago is well used to them and was not deterred enough to leave.

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2 --  Being older than the other two geese, Cago was unwilling to take directives from them or follow their lead.

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3 --  Having lost family and experienced trauma at her former home this past June and found reasonably safe sanctuary at Harlem Meer, Cago now considers the Meer her "home" and is (at least for now) unwilling to leave.

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Or, perhaps Cago just knew that the two scared off younger geese would return once things quieted down and they sought her out again.   She had merely to wait it out.

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Sure enough, Goose 2 and Goose 3 did return again -- though strangely, not at the same time.  Goose 3 is apparently far more cautious and wary than his/her more laid back flock mate as witnessed last night.

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In any event, the three geese are together again despite brief and unpleasant interruption and continue to work out the specifics and actual roles of their relationship. As noted in this blog, such matters take time.   Cago and her new "family" are still very early in their actual relationship development and things like hierarchy and leadership role still need to be worked out.  But, the three are definitely a "gaggle" now (albeit slightly disorganized).  No question about that.

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Indeed, the biggest question that remains now is will Central Park continue to use harassment against this delicate and newly forming relationship and any other geese who remain steadfastly in Central Park?

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It seems that rather than fussing and blowing money to "Get the Flock Out," Central Park Conservancy would do better to "Get the Criminals and Thugs Out" of Central Park.  

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Then again, I am simply a "crazy bird lady" who prefers geese and ducks to robbers and rapists.   -- PCA

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Breaking News: Re: Goose Harassment in Central Park

Cago at Harlem Meer in Central Park.  Can this solitary goose who likely lost her entire family to a USDA slaughter this summer, finally get to experience any peace?  Will she finally be allotted time to bond and flock with other geese?

A few minutes after posting the previous blog entry regarding goose harassment at Central Park, I received a call back from a high official of Central Park Conservancy. (I had complained earlier in the day.)

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The gentleman assured me he was going to look further into this and call me back tomorrow.   He sounded genuinely concerned and quite frankly, surprised with the information that harassment was being conducted on so few geese in Central Park. 

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I am guessing this is a matter of contracts being signed and no one actually checking the changing goose circumstances in the park.

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This entire episode only emphasizes how vital it is for people who still care about any of the wildlife in our parks to be constantly aware of what is going on and to be willing to report and if necessary, protest mistakes or abuses of a tool like " humane goose management."

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It is one thing to harass two hundred geese munching grass at the Great Lawn (not that I personally have actually ever witnessed that) or harass geese in the spring just prior to USDA surveys and slaughters.  It is quite another to harass TWO geese on a park lake.

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I am hopeful that this totally unnecessary, wasteful and actually cruel practice will be ended until such time it potentially becomes "necessary" again in the spring.

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It is truly sad that Canada geese have no peaceful time of the entire year in New York City.

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Thank the politicians for that. -- PCA

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"Get the Flock Out!" (What "Flocks?") -- Goose Harassment in Central Park

Cago (left) greeting juvenile goose this morning just before vans rolled in.

One of two "Geese Police" vans.  They were at Central Park's Harlem Meer this morning to, "Get the Flock Out!"

The four domestic flightless ducks finally coming out of hiding this moring once the vans left.

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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