From their small beginnings in April, the canada geese family at the Leopold Nature Center have now grown their adult plumage and are very nearly full size. The 13 goslings seen back on June 6 have now diminished to 10, which to me seems like a great success for these two geese parents. Back in the early 1900s, canada geese in central North America were almost hunted to extirpation, but with outlawed hunting and their ability to thrive in human-made environments, their are now over 5 million canada geese in North America, with several subspecies in various regions of Canada and the U.S. The Nature Center geese are the kind that can eat domesticated grasses right off the lawn, as well as duckweed on the top of the pond. Is there any vegetation they can't eat? They're great to have around since kids can see them from just a few feet away, but without many predators and so many safe lawn spaces to live on, how many geese will we have in another twenty years?
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