Being a transplant from Nashville, TN to Great Falls, MT causes one to spend their first Winter season shoveling quite a bit of snow and then also exploring the local area for sites and sounds.
One place my family likes to drive to and walk about is the local park and duck pond. It is surprising to find that the geese and ducks have not gone. My husband says it is because they are so well fed by park patrons that they do not migrate. Our kids are a bit taken back at how aggressive these birds can be when it comes to dishing out the bread pieces or even some burrito shells we have had on hand.
One research I did says the following: "Families of geese do not break up after the breeding season, but form strong family units that migrate and winter together until they return to their breeding ground. Only then do the yearlings leave to start their own families. Indeed, some geese mate for life. Canada geese can live up to 30 years in the wild and longer in captivity."
Maybe the strong family relations are why Great Falls seems to have a very large number of geese these winter months!
One thing my husband did note which I had not noticed at all -- The loud and very aggressive sea gulls are definitely gone during the cold season.
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