If you live near a park or ponding basin, you’ve seen them.
Geese. Dozens and dozens of large, black-headed geese gathered together in flocks, looking like menacing avian armies.
For years, I’d seen these giant birds around Fresno, most notably at Woodward and Roeding parks, but it wasn’t until I moved to northwest Fresno that I really become aware of them.
I’d hear them coming long before I saw them, their distinctive honking signaling their impending arrival. And I saw the evidence of them—usually splattered across my car windshield or against the side of the house.
“Seriously, what’s up with all these geese?” I’d wonder.
They didn’t bother me. I like birds. National Geographic declared 2018 the “Year of the Bird” and after driving by countless elementary schools and parks and seeing waves of geese covering the grounds, I tend to agree.
But I still wanted to know why there were so many of these large birds flying over my house all day. Where do they come from and where are they going? So I contacted the Fresno Audubon Society for some answers.
Fresno Audubon provides the goods on geese
Robert Snow is the president of Fresno Audubon Society, and a board member of California Audubon, which is part of the National Audubon Society. Audubon is unique in having hundreds of independent 501c3 chapters separate from the National Audubon Society—the Fresno chapter has about 350 members.
- What’s Hot & Happening March 15 – 17 - March 15, 2024
- What’s Hot & Happening March 8 – 10 - March 8, 2024
- What’s Hot & Happening March 1 – 3 - March 1, 2024
Sonny says
So what I gather, most of these geese in flying and grazing in Fresno-Clovis vicinity have become permanently local to our area with only a few more to join them during winter months. Do any of these still migrate to/from any other area or have they called Central Valley/Fresno County their permanent home forever?