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Letters: Snow geese losing out to urban development

A Richmond News reader says lack of green space due to development means snow geese are flocking to school fields
Snow geese garry point park
A Richmond News reader says snow geese are losing out to urban development, with fewer green spaces available to them

Dear Editor,

Re: “Geese won’t let me sleep,” Letters, Oct. 14

In response to the noisy snow goose letter, perhaps the author might consider that snow geese have been migrating along the Pacific flyway for thousands of years.

Long before European settlers began to use this land, the snow geese migrated from Wrangle Island in Russia and there have been recordings of some birds making the journey in 36 hours. The majority take longer: one to two weeks.

The reason snow geese congregate in school yards is a simple matter of urban development.

I’ve lived in Richmond for 40 years. I don’t remember snow geese in my school fields even though I lived near Sturgeon Banks.

The marshland to the west of Richmond is rich in grazing land for the geese. Looking at aerial photographs of Richmond will reveal why the geese are using school fields.

Forty years ago Richmond’s landscape was rich with farms and other open green areas. Now, the only green space the geese can find from above are school fields which is why you are being “bothered.”

Snow geese are fascinating. 

If you watch a flock, you can identify bonded adult pairs. They generally stay close to their young which have the greyer colouring. Their beak feathers are stained orange from the rust in the soil where they graze. Some of their favourite foods are potatoes, grass and cattails.

Seagulls have learned over time that grazing snow geese make it easier for them to dig up invertebrates so they will follow and graze with the geese. Their waste is essentially processed grass so while it’s messy, it also provides free fertilizer for our school fields.

Scientists think that birds may even navigate using the stars as well as recognizable landmarks.

Ultimately, the geese are simply following deep-rooted instinct and doing their best to survive in a world that is constantly shrinking.

Shannon Turner

RICHMOND