It's official. Spring is here.

This morning I saw the first group of Canada geese flying north over Winnipeg.

By the time the snow melts, there'll be tens of thousands of them flying north over the city.

There's a huge wetland marsh located due north of Winnipeg. It's about 14 square miles of wetlands that are ideally suited for ducks and geese to nest and breed. It's called Oak Hammock Marsh, and it's said that ducks and geese that are born there will return to that same marsh the following spring to nest and breed with other ducks and geese. So, that marsh is like a duck and goose factory.

My understanding is that the Oak Hammock Marsh gets a lot of the money it needs to operate from Ducks Unlimited, and Ducks Unlimited is really the duck hunters of Canada and the USA. So, having that huge wetland north of Winnipeg helps ensure a large and healthy duck and goose population in North America.

They have a hiking trail through Oak Hammock marsh, and I've hiked it, but it's only open in the fall when the young ducks and goslings have already taken wing. I guess they're concerned about people disrupting the ducks and geese during the mating season in the late spring and early summer.

About Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre

On 4/5/2014 3:32 PM, nestork wrote:

It's official. Spring is here.

This morning I saw the first group of Canada geese flying north over
Winnipeg.

By the time the snow melts, there'll be tens of thousands of them flying
north over the city.

There's a huge wetland marsh located due north of Winnipeg. It's about
14 square miles of wetlands that are ideally suited for ducks and geese
to nest and breed. It's called Oak Hammock Marsh, and it's said that
ducks and geese that are born there will return to that same marsh the
following spring to nest and breed with other ducks and geese. So, that
marsh is like a duck and goose factory.
....

Hell, not even seen any coming back across here on the central flyway in
SW KS. There's Cheyenne Bottoms in W Central KS that's the stopover
point similar.

We'd just as soon there were a few less, frankly. They're mostly a
nuisance.

I did spook a pair of mallards from the cedars the other morning when
went out to continue the tumbleweed cleanup. What they were doing here
when we've had no measurable precip and no puddles in two months is
anybody's guess...I've not seen them but the one morning.

The robins have been back in various numbers for several weeks, now,
though...as well as the flickers, another early returner here.

--

On Sat, 5 Apr 2014 22:32:37 +0200, nestork
wrote:


It's official. Spring is here.

This morning I saw the first group of Canada geese flying north over
Winnipeg.

By the time the snow melts, there'll be tens of thousands of them flying
north over the city.

There's a huge wetland marsh located due north of Winnipeg. It's about
14 square miles of wetlands that are ideally suited for ducks and geese
to nest and breed. It's called Oak Hammock Marsh, and it's said that
ducks and geese that are born there will return to that same marsh the
following spring to nest and breed with other ducks and geese. So, that
marsh is like a duck and goose factory.

My understanding is that the Oak Hammock Marsh gets a lot of the money
it needs to operate from Ducks Unlimited, and Ducks Unlimited is really
the duck hunters of Canada and the USA. So, having that huge wetland
north of Winnipeg helps ensure a large and healthy duck and goose
population in North America.

They have a hiking trail through Oak Hammock marsh, and I've hiked it,
but it's only open in the fall when the young ducks and goslings have
already taken wing. I guess they're concerned about people disrupting
the ducks and geese during the mating season in the late spring and
early summer.

'About Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre'
(http://www.oakhammockmarsh.ca/about-us/)
The "flying dogs" often overwinter here in Waterloo Ontario - but
this winter they lost access to virtually ANY open water even in the
Urban space - but they are back now crapping all over everything. Just
when I don't need to shovel the office sidewalk for snow, I need to
start shovelling all the goose crap!!!!!!

On Sat, 05 Apr 2014 17:58:14 -0400, wrote:

'About Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre'
(http://www.oakhammockmarsh.ca/about-us/)
The "flying dogs" often overwinter here in Waterloo Ontario - but
this winter they lost access to virtually ANY open water even in the
Urban space - but they are back now crapping all over everything. Just
when I don't need to shovel the office sidewalk for snow, I need to
start shovelling all the goose crap!!!!!!

Trivia:

On government land in central Pennsylvania, a former WWI ammo storage
dump, now, four federal prisons are built there. One area has a
number of ponds I fished in (permission). I've had them chase me if I
got near the nest where eggs were located. They are territorial, for
sure.

The Federal Prison Camp, Allenwood Pennsylvania, has a work detail for
inmates to clean **** off sidewalks. Called the "Poop Patrol".

You can't make this stuff up.

Video:

"Canada goose thinks he owns this boat and takes exception to its
use."

Featured on Inside Edition!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OStX_wrWGg

dpb wrote:
On 4/5/2014 3:32 PM, nestork wrote:

It's official. Spring is here.

This morning I saw the first group of Canada geese flying north over
Winnipeg.

By the time the snow melts, there'll be tens of thousands of them flying
north over the city.

There's a huge wetland marsh located due north of Winnipeg. It's about
14 square miles of wetlands that are ideally suited for ducks and geese
to nest and breed. It's called Oak Hammock Marsh, and it's said that
ducks and geese that are born there will return to that same marsh the
following spring to nest and breed with other ducks and geese. So, that
marsh is like a duck and goose factory.
...

Hell, not even seen any coming back across here on the central flyway in
SW KS. There's Cheyenne Bottoms in W Central KS that's the stopover
point similar.

We'd just as soon there were a few less, frankly. They're mostly a
nuisance.

I did spook a pair of mallards from the cedars the other morning when
went out to continue the tumbleweed cleanup. What they were doing here
when we've had no measurable precip and no puddles in two months is
anybody's guess...I've not seen them but the one morning.

The robins have been back in various numbers for several weeks, now,
though...as well as the flickers, another early returner here.

--

Here in NW Nebraska we have had steady flocks going north. Some circle
and land in corn fields just east of us. We had some robins come early
and I think they wondered why. Quite a few now along with the
flickers,nuthatches,chickadee and junco and finches. Wed have the
woodpeckers also but I feed the year round and have heated waters, the
robins are always on the waters I think for the heat.

On 4/5/2014 4:32 PM, nestork wrote:

It's official. Spring is here.

This morning I saw the first group of Canada geese flying north over
Winnipeg.

By the time the snow melts, there'll be tens of thousands of them flying
north over the city.

There's a huge wetland marsh located due north of Winnipeg. It's about
14 square miles of wetlands that are ideally suited for ducks and geese
to nest and breed. It's called Oak Hammock Marsh, and it's said that
ducks and geese that are born there will return to that same marsh the
following spring to nest and breed with other ducks and geese. So, that
marsh is like a duck and goose factory.

My understanding is that the Oak Hammock Marsh gets a lot of the money
it needs to operate from Ducks Unlimited, and Ducks Unlimited is really
the duck hunters of Canada and the USA. So, having that huge wetland
north of Winnipeg helps ensure a large and healthy duck and goose
population in North America.

They have a hiking trail through Oak Hammock marsh, and I've hiked it,
but it's only open in the fall when the young ducks and goslings have
already taken wing. I guess they're concerned about people disrupting
the ducks and geese during the mating season in the late spring and
early summer.

'About Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre'
(http://www.oakhammockmarsh.ca/about-us/)





I used to love to goose hunt but Canada's started getting sparse and
daily limit went from 4 down to 1 with shorter season. We were not
allowed to shoot snows but now they overrun the marshes here in Delaware
and there is practically no limit. Most of the Canada geese now in the
state are resident. As Oren points out elsewhere they can be a PITA on
golf courses and business sites.

wrote:

The "flying dogs" often overwinter here in Waterloo Ontario - but
this winter they lost access to virtually ANY open water even in the
Urban space - but they are back now crapping all over everything. Just
when I don't need to shovel the office sidewalk for snow, I need to
start shovelling all the goose crap!!!!!!

A lot of them hang around here too, which leads to a little conflict.
Ospreys build large, if messy, nests and seem to prefer powerpoles. Maybe
they need to recharge their cellphones or something. The power company puts
up dummy poles with platforms to try to lure them away from the hot ones.

Anyway, the osprey pack their bags and head for California winters and get
back usually later this month. Foxes don't climb power poles, so the geese
like nests up on poles. They're here before the osprey show, so they move
in. The osprey come back, glare at the squatter in their former nest, and go
build another one. I've never caught the act, but when the goose decides the
goslings are big enough to do gosling things, she rolls them over the side
of the nest. They bounce a few times when they hit ground but most survive.
Then the goose flies down and leads them off to the river.

To add insult to injury, the local baseball team is called the Ospreys and
there was an osprey nest behind the centerfield fence so fans could watch
the osprey cavort during the more boring parts of the game. (all nine
innings, imnsho). Frigging goose moved into that nest last year too.

So, if the OP wants geese, I'll draw the damn things a map and send them on
their way.

On Sat, 05 Apr 2014 21:04:42 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

A lot of them hang around here too, which leads to a little conflict.
Ospreys build large, if messy, nests and seem to prefer powerpoles.

Yes. In the Florida Keys they do. I worked in Miami, with a Yankee
that was not familiar with Ospreys. We were on a fishing boat one day
as a group retreat. . He commented about "all the Bald Eagles". I
chuckled and explained those birds are not Bald Eagles. He even tried
to argue with me about it.

The nest does look like and is as big as an Eagle nest.

Pics:

http://www.stormeyes.org/tornado/digitals/sfl0809/osprey.jpg

http://mapinit.com/images/lst-feature/1-1080-osprey-nest.JPG

Oren wrote:

The nest does look like and is as big as an Eagle nest.

http://www.makeitmissoula.com/commun...ve-osprey-web-
cam/
http://snipurl.com/28s3yy2

This pair has their own reality show. I'll have to check out the pole down
by the river. I'd seen a goose scouting it out a couple of weeks ago, but
there wasn't much nest left. Geese don't do any property upkeep or home
repair after they take a nest over. I saw something sitting on the platform
yesterday but just the head. My naked eyes weren't enough to tell what it
was.

On 4/5/2014 3:32 PM, nestork wrote:

It's official. Spring is here.

This morning I saw the first group of Canada geese flying north over
Winnipeg.

By the time the snow melts, there'll be tens of thousands of them flying
north over the city.


That's encouraging. I'm so tired of winter,
and the heat bills are killing me. Thanks
for the good news.


--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..