Sunday, April 8, 2007

White Geese on the Charles

Canadian geese are everywhere. There is no denial of that. Just try walking across Back Bay Fens. You only think that if you stick to a paved pathway, you are safe, but of course, you are not. Once I tried eating a donut while sitting on a bench at the Public Gardens. I only had time for about two bites before I was literally attacked by three very much donut deprived but far from starving Canadian geese.

We are used to seeing Canadian geese. But what about white geese. I think of white geese as farm animals. Nice clean fat white geese should be happily walking around the farm. Yet, if you ever go by the river along Memorial drive, there is a particular spot near the BU bridge. There, among the trees and bushes, there is always a flock of snow white geese. They seem to live there. Year around! How did they get there? How do they survive? I have never seen them anywhere else along the Charles. Every time I go by them, I am fascinated.

Today the mystery is no more. Having googled the subject, I have discovered a website, and a blog dedicated to these white geese. Apparently white geese have been living in Cambridge parks for at least 25 years. A group of them ended up by BU bridge because sometime in the early 1980s a worker from a nearby pumping station brought them there to serve as guard animals when the guard dog died. They must have lived there ever since.

1 comment:

jcnemecek said...

If you like white geese, you should consider the wonder of the black squirrel.

Someone bought and released a batch in the National Zoo around the turn of the century, and now DC is crawling with them. I think they're very attractive.