Nearly 30 thousand fewer geese migrating through Winnipeg this year

WINNIPEG — While it may not be obvious at first gander, the geese migration numbers are significantly down.

“It isn’t the hundreds of thousands that you sometimes hear about,” Paula Grieef, resident naturalist at Oak Hammock Marsh said.

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Migration patterns shift every year. In this case, the geese stayed up north longer because of September’s warmer temperatures.

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“They’re only staying for a day or two now because they’ve eaten so much already they don’t need to come here and eat the same way,” Grieef said.

According to the city, since 2013 there’s been a total decrease of over 70,000 geese coming through Winnipeg.

Rodney Penner, the city’s naturalist says when it comes to inside city limits, the geese tend to migrate towards places like island lakes, where there’s a lot of open space and water.

“It’s attractive because of the safety, so they’ve gotten accustomed to the fact that they’re safe there,” Penner said.

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That neighbourhood has one of the older retention ponds which Penner says seems to attract the geese. The newer retention ponds have been more effective in keeping geese out of residential areas.

“The wetland plants around them and tall grasses growing along the slope, that type of naturalization reduces the amount of geese,” Penner said.