As we always say at JCLS, the libraries are for everyone, so I guess it was only natural that Mother Nature herself heard that and said, “Oh really? Well, honey you’re in for a fowl surprise.” I also like to assume that she looked like the great Moira Rose in her iconic movie “The Crows Have Eyes III: The Crowening”, as the horrific sounds of warbling, honks and flapping wings filled the space.
For those of you who may not be in the Bear Creek Region (Ashland, Talent and Phoenix), you might have missed that we have had our own rendition of “The Birds” playing out around our libraries. One of these instances, though significantly less terrifying, is the appearance of a certain nest on the roof of the Ashland’s Children’s Library. Since the adult services offices have a great view of the old library roof, we normally do see some animals scurry across the building, though it’s usually just squirrels or raccoons. However, one fine morning a colleague of mine pointed something out to me as I was setting things down at my desk. A nest had been built! Oh, how wonderful! What bird has graced us with its presence, I wondered. Could it be cardinal? A blue jay? No. Instead, we have a literal mother goose on our hands…a Canadian Mother Goose. I already know that those are birds that have a heart filled with nothing but malice and spite, but now with the additional power of a protective mother? I shudder at the thought.
Okay fine, that might be a bit hyperbolic, but it was still enough that all of us in the adult service department needed some direction on what to do in this situation. Last thing we need is another branch falling victim to a foul mood fowl ferociously fighting families! Now to that statement one might say, “Wow Ethan, that is a great piece of alliteration, but what are you talking about?” I guess now would be a good time to bring up the second iteration of “The Birds” that happened in our area earlier this year.
Much like how in Australia they waged the Great Emu War, we have had our fair share of run ins with a gang of turkeys at the Phoenix library. Though we used to live in harmony and only have the slight annoyance of a group of the birds crossing the road and causing traffic delays, it appears that the gloves are off. Turkeys have been pecking and attacking more frequently and have gotten aggressive enough that earlier this month the Phoenix City Council had meetings to try and come up with some solutions to remove the birds. Though I didn’t see any official decision being made, it does appear that they are looking into nonlethal methods to do this, which I was happy to hear. I mean I love a Thanksgiving feast as much as the next guy, but let’s at least try to do this civilly first.
That brings us back to our Mother Goose situation. I know that some birds like to come back to the places they nested before and return again year after year. Personally, as I was growing up, we had a family of killdeer who created a nest in our rocky driveway, and they were still doing that when I left the nest for college. So, what were we to do? Well, we ended up contacting Wildlife Images and seeing if they had any advice on what to do. Here is what we learned.
- Canada Geese are, in fact, silly gooses, and will sometimes nest on roofs and balconies, not really thinking ahead about how they will get the goslings down.
- The goslings can’t fly until they are 10 weeks old, but can safely fall vertically down two stories, and are surprisingly resilient. As my mom used to say, “They’re young. They’ll bounce.”
- Since the nest is made, we can’t do anything until the eggs hatch, since the parents won’t follow it. Additionally, it’s illegal to try and move the nest and is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
- Once they do hatch, we can contact local agencies to catch the parents and help get the goslings off the roof (that’s assuming they don’t get down themselves) and release them all next to a body of water.
- There is a chance that the parents won’t take the goslings back, which then means they would need to be sent to a wildlife hospital for rehabilitation.
- To avoid this in the future, place deterrent devices like Mylar Balloons tied to weights or motion activated sprinklers to prevent the geese from nesting again. I personally think we should get one of those Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Men, but I am starting to think that everyone assumes I’m joking and isn’t taking my suggestions seriously. Alas.
So that’s where are situation stands. In theory the eggs should be hatching here in the upcoming weeks, so let’s all send a big congratulations to Couscous the goose-goose, and hope they have a safe hatching and leave without problem. Even if they are birds pulled directly from the pits of hades. Now back to the Arm Flailing Tube Man idea….