May 24, 2003:
My Poppy and Maudy stories always start with me looking
for them in late Winter. But, this year I'm going to back-up to mid-Winter and sketch-out what's been happening
at the Georgetown Reservoir as of late:
There's a construction crew (The Joseph B. Hay Co., out
of Baltimore) working on the Northern Half of the Rez. It looks like they're completely revamping the old infrastructure.
They started work @ Jan. or Feb of this year. (The logic of starting in mid-Winter escapes me--there were many 'freeze
days' this Winter when they couldn't work at all.)
My policy was to basically stay away from the construction
area and just do my normal thing at the Southern Half of the Rez: feed birds in the morning before Work
= a very pleasant way to start out a work- day.
When the Geese aren't around (most of the Winter) I play
a game with the Gulls, who are also regulars at the Rez--I throw bits of bread into the air over the fence and they try to
catch it in mid-air. I'm pretty good at throwing it just the right way and they're very good at catching on to the game
and we all have some Fun...
One day, I mistakenly/unthinkingly fed the Gulls on the
Construction Side. And wouldn't you know it? A couple of Construction Guys come up to the fence and say:
"Hey, stop that!"
"Stop what?"
"Stop feeding the birds!"
"Why should I?"
"#1 cuz this is Federal Property! And #2 they bother
us when we're eating lunch!"
"Well, excuse me..." and gathered my stuff and went
on to work. Every day after that, so far, I only have my Fun on the Southern Half = no problems: the Geese
were coming back and, One Great Day, @ a month ago it was Positive ID once again of
Poppy and Maudy
We did our 'yakkity yak' greetings and were getting along
famously: Poppy would prove his Dominant Alpha Male status, as per usual (there were a couple of 'takers' but they were
too inexperienced and didn't stand a chance).
There were plenty of other C. Geese--I counted @ two dozen,
as of last Sunday, the 18th, including One Brand New Gosling! It all seemed Situation Normal at the Rez... And
then:
As of last Monday, the 19th (six full days) there have
been NO C.Geese at the Rez! None! I've made a point of walking to and from work and giving the Rez a thorough
look-over each day and I swear THEY'RE ALL GONE.
Never, in my 12 years of observing the Georgetown Reservoir,
have I seen dozens of Geese simply disappear one day (and you know the Adults who have that one Gosling aren't going to leave
it behind).
I've called most everyone I can think of (the Humane Society
of the US (HSUS), the Audubon Society, the Center for Urban Ecology--they're right next-door to the Rez--and the DC Humane
Society. The first callback I got was from the DC Humane Society (which, technically, doesn't deal with the Rez--it's
Federal Property): 'Nick' said he'd look into it and see what he could find out (no response yet). The second
callback was from 'Maggie' at the HSUS and she said: "There most likely was a 'roundup' of all the Geese--which means
they've probably been carted off to a Poultry Processing Plant. And if you think you're going to find out exactly
what happened, you're probably not going to. There's a precedent down in Texas where a Federal Judge ruled that removal
of 'pest' animals doesn't have to be accountable to the Public; which means whoever does it doesn't have to tell you who they
are and what they've done with the animals."
I fear Poppy and Maudy are dead...
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(a little later)
I was riding my Bike past the Rez this early evening and
I did notice One C. Goose and turned around and pulled up to the fence. The Goose came right over (probably looking
for bread--there are many who know me). I told him/her I don't know what happened to all the others and I'm very upset
about it. Don't know what to do. Feel bad.
And as I was leaving the Goose started 'talking' and kept
on 'talking' as I rode off... I anthropmorphize that he/she was telling me that this was some kind of a Tragedy and
it's not fair...
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My Theory is that some of those Construction Guys stepped
in a bunch of Goose Grease one too many times and said, "Get these goddam Geese outta here!" As simple as that.
But I sure would like to find out the Facts of this matter. How was it done--in the middle of the night?
This is all so Very Sad.
=============================================
Ted Unseth
p.s. Ive written-down the exact Job # of the Construction work going on
at the Rez (its posted at one of the main gates). Youll find absolutely nothing about it on either the USACE website, nor
on the Joseph B. Fay Co. website; but Ive sent e-mails to both re: any information they could provide on this specific job.
===============================================
June 2, 2003--Follow-up:
As of yesterday AM, I have counted approximately 3 dozen C. Geese
at the Georgetown Reservoir. "So what's the problem?" These are NOT the original group.
Yes, they're quite friendly and enjoy the bits of bread that I throw
over the fence; but, if this were the original group, 1. Poppy (see story above) would have barged-in and established Alpha
Male Dominance, like he has every year for the eight years that I've been monitoring this situation; and 2. There would be
goslings (this is the first year that there are NO goslings).
The USACE says they've done absolutely nothing to/with/about the geese
at the GT Reservoir (even though, they're studying US Fish and Wildlife guidelines). And now that there are geese at the Reservoir
again, everyone I've talked to says, "Nothing more can be done. Everything looks normal--you can't prove that the current
geese aren't the original group."
If anyone has any theories on exactly what happened, please share
them. I can't figure this out. I won't rest until I get a satisfactory, truthful answer.
July 10, 2003 -- Follow-up:
I can't find a scrap of evidence that the original flock was nefariously done away with.
So, I'm going to go with this Hypothesis:
Poppy and Maudy realized that the Rez was very much different this year--not just a handful of
maintenance workers mowing the lawns from time to time, but scores of workers and machinery everywhere. They may have
led the flock to a safer location. The only glitch is the baby Gosling I saw. The parents wouldn't just abandon
it to go with the Flock, would they? It's possible a Crow got the little one (I've seen it happen before) and that's
when P and M decided to move everyone on...
I'll stick with this for now and await next year, to see if they return. One thing's for
sure, though--the joy of watching little babies grow up at the Rez is null and void this year. I don't bother getting
bread from the deli anymore. Ho hum...
