Mitch tells me he almost got wiped out this morning while stopping to let a mother goose and her goslings cross the road, and he remarks that he's seeing far more geese around town than when he was a kid. This is obviously not just a Fort Wayne problem, or even an Indiana problem. One of the reasons for the proliferation of geese is that the bleeding-heart liberals want to coddle the fowl invaders. But the biggest problem, which no one wants to address, is our unsecured border with Canada. No one knows for sure how many of these illegal immigrants undocumented geese are here in America, but you can bet it's in the millions. They eat the food our own birds need, and they have no interest at all in assimilation, continuing to honk instead of chirping the way our American fine-feathered friends do.
The worst part is how all this breeds disrespect for the law. These Canada geese are cleverly using a loophole in U.S. law, which protects them under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. How many generations can they be in the same place before they are considered "natives" -- even if they are resident aliens -- rather than migrants?
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I'd just like to point out that I'm fully in favor of a path to earned citizenship for those geese already in the county, but not amnesty. This must be done in conjunction with a wall along our northern border. A really, really tall wall.
What burns me about these so-called "migrating birds" is the damage they cause to our rivers. Can you say "e coli?" And don't get me started on the hazards they create to pedestrians at IPFW, the River Greenway, etc. HOW ABOUT A DAY WITHOUT GEESE? HUH?
I should point out that there IS one benefit the birds bring us. Each member of the animal kingdom has assigned functions. It is the duty of the birds and squirrels to be where humans are to annoy them and cause them problems thus reminding us that we, too, are part of nature. But how many times have you really been annoyed by a domestic bird? They are lazy, just sitting in their nests all day. These Canadian birds are doing the jobs American birds will no longer do.
That's to say nothing of the multitudes of deer everywhere, coyotes, fox, even wild turkeys (although I think the DNR has a lot to do with that). These animals were all scarce thirty years ago in these parts. Do you suppose they're pulling their weight (and if any of them migrated in from Canada?)
Am I the *only* person in the area who actually likes Canada geese? Hell, I even get amused when I have to brake for one as it slowly & regally ambles across the parking lot where I work, or when a couple of them stand sentry on the roof of the building where I work, loudly honking at humans for daring to approach the building.
I could spend my lunch hours watching them interact.
Perhaps I don't get out enough?
Ah, to hell with it, I enjoy watching them.
Though maybe I'd feel differently if I had a gaggle of them in my back yard, leaving a mess. Still, I do likes me some geese.
And now for something completely different: Leo, excellent editorial today on the immigration legislation situation. Mucho props.