The Editor,
The snow geese are here again, so let’s rejoice in our good fortune in being the winter home of these beautiful birds.
Please, let’s not hear talk of hunting or culling them. They have survived the destruction of much of their natural habitat in Richmond and still they come.
Granted, the birds pluck grass from our fields, but they also fertilize them. And, granted, for a short time those fields may not be the most pleasant places to play on, but they recover as is plain to see to anyone who cares to check in the spring.
At the end of their last season here, we witnessed a most amazing sight. We were sitting at the western end of the dyke when we saw a huge elongated raft of snow geese drifting slowly down the river.
There must have been many hundred, if not a thousand, birds. Suddenly, for no obvious reason, the leading birds took off followed in sequence by the rest.
There was no doubt in our minds that this was the start of their migration back to their northern breeding grounds. It was a sight we will never forget.
Patricia and Patrick Gannon
Richmond
