If you are outdoors in Greensboro today, and not at one of the farmers’ markets, you may well be enjoying one of our great parks. If you go to a park, you will probably see some of Greensboro’s Canada geese. They love wide, open spaces. We photographed the above pair, part of a flock of 18, prancing around the edge of a Wal-Mart parking lot. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission estimates that North Carolina’s population of Canada geese grew from 5,300 in 1998 to 102,200 in 2009. The population continues to grow exponentially. While they are protected migratory birds, given the population increase, federal law lists certain times of year when the birds can be hunted.*  We’re wondering if the eggs could be eaten to help thin the population without having to resort to killing adult birds. 

These geese should be referred to as “birds FORMERLY known as Canada geese.”  Once they discovered North Carolina, they decided that migrating was for the birds! They are here to stay. And, the above pair was so “friendly,” they tried to hop in our car while we left the door open when we were taking photos.

* News and Record Staff Writer, Jennifer Fernandez wrote about this situation on Sunday, June 19th, 2016.