Canada Geese In The Sudbury River - December 31st

 On New Years day, i decided to do something i haven't done in almost a year: feed the ducks. Last year, as you can see on my February "Birds Of The Sudbury River" post, which is on my old blog, i did a series on all the different birds ive seen in the river and flying over it. This included Mergansers, Canada Geese, Mute Swans, Mallard Ducks, Great Blue Herons, and rarer birds such as Osprey, Bald Eagle, Belted Kingfisher, Wood Duck, and Red Winged Blackbirds.

Today, I actually was worried i wouldn't see any of them. I showed up and was greeted by silence, except for the trickle of light rain and snow melting off the trees. Eventually though, a huge flock of Mallards and Canada Geese flapped down in front of me, and I started tossing them rice crispies. 

Some of the geese weren't scared at all, and were clearly so used to being fed, that when i paused my feeding, they would start following me and hissing. That really surprised me, because the only other time a goose has hissed at me was when i was getting too close to a mother's goslings. I started to feel guilty about feeding the geese, as i know it's not great for their digestive system, nor is it good for their environment. I also don't want the river to become even more polluted than it already is. 

I think my new year's resolution is that i'm going to take a long break from feeding the ducks and geese, because I don't want to add E. Coli on top of the Mercury that already poisons the river, and I already have way more Canada Goose Pictures than I need. Literally every 50 feet along the riverbank there is a sign that says "No Swimming" or "Do Not Eat Fish, River Is Contaminated With Mercury" or something like that. I hope that one day, (maybe not even in my lifetime) people will be able to eat the bluegill they catch. Maybe one day, a beach will open along the side of the river. This probably isnt realistic, but we could maybe see a return in Loons, and here them whistling at night.

Lake Cochituate actually already has a problem with E. Coli, and Oxygen Deprivation, which most likely are results of an unusually high amount of feces in the water, which is because of people like me who feed the Waterfowl cereal.

Canada Geese breed at three years old, and the bulk of it is done in march, so we still have a bit before were going to see chicks again. I wonder if any of these individuals are the chicks we saw in the spring. I'll finish off the post with 2 photos from last May, of the Goslings, and the Eggs...