FORT SILL, Okla. (April 21, 2016) -- In what could be a sister story to the children's book "Make Way for Ducklings" by Robert McCloskey, a family of Canada geese had a positive encounter with humans at Reynolds Army Community Hospital, April 15.
It was the second year that this pair of geese built a nest in a rooftop courtyard just off the pediatrics wing. Perhaps they chose the location to protect against coyotes or bobcats, but they didn't plan on how the babies would get out.
Fortunately, the post's natural resources and hospital maintenance staff took charge of the situation. Trevor Sauders, environmental assistant at Natural Resources on post, obtained a permit from the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service, since it is illegal to interfere with or handle them without one. Phillip Smith, RACH maintenance mechanic brought a cardboard box, and RACH painter Greg Hicks brandished the net.
Mama goose was patrolling the courtyard with her five babies when the doors opened just after 7:30 a.m. As the men approached, her honking alerted Papa goose in the parking lot below and a racket ensued while Sauders tried unsuccessfully to catch Mama. She flew and joined her mate below, both hurling dire warnings to the men up top messing with their babies. Smith and Hicks rounded up the goslings and put them in the box, then hurried through the hospital corridors with them loudly peeping the whole way.
Once in the parking lot, they tipped the box on its side, and one by one the goslings ran to their anxious parents. Peace was restored, and the family made its way to a little hill of grass as if the kerfuffle had never happened. The goslings managed to hop over the curb after a few tries, and the little family went on its way to find grubs and juicy grass for breakfast.
Three other pairs of geese chose nesting sites within view of staff and patients as well, but they were located on lawn areas where they could easily lead their babies away. Two were off the radiology wing, and one was beside a sidewalk at the South Entrance.
Sauders said he applies for a general goose removal permit every year because of periodic need to keep them from interfering with the mission, such as one nest built in front of a trainer MLRS truck last year. Sometimes a nest like this needs to be destroyed because the parents will not tend to eggs that have been relocated.
"If it's early in the season, they may lay another clutch," said Sauders. He just wants to be sure it's not in the same place.
Geese mate for life, but some widowed females outside RACH have laid infertile eggs. The nests are monitored and if babies don't hatch within a reasonable amount of time (incubation is 25 to 28 days), the eggs are removed so the female can return to normal goose life.
While Canada geese are protected by the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, most of the geese nesting on post are year-round residents who don't have the need to migrate like most of their brethren. This species chooses manicured lawns to graze as they provide good visibility against predators, and because they love eating the grass.
Sauders said he hopes people will realize that geese near buildings exhibit threat behavior to protect their eggs, and it's just temporary.
Social Sharing