Five years ago, Vancouver Island University (VIU) launched their Canada Goose Project, tagging four hundred geese with metal leg bands and white collars featuring a three-digit code, unique to each goose.
The aim of the project was to collect data necessary to accurately assess the abundance, distribution and movement of geese in the Nanaimo area.
According to the project, the abundance of Canadian geese in Nanaimo was not always the norm. Introduction projects thirty years ago resulted in the population to soar, with the increased number of birds causing damage to agriculture, sports fields and fragile local estuarine ecosystems.
According to the project, a majority of the geese they tagged remained in Nanaimo, with some venturing to the mainland or Victoria. A small number of geese even moved as far as Washington State, Oregon and Alberta.
Now, one of these geese has been spotted nearly 3,000 kilometers away in Chicago.
Talk about a long flight!
In October, a woman jogging in Chicago’s Lincoln Park spotted a goose with a unique neck collar and code, and managed to get in touch with the right people to inquire as to its purpose.
Why did the goose migrate that far? According to VIU biology professor Eric Demers, the running theory is that the goose must have either gotten lost, joined other geese that were going in the same direction or they were pushed East by a storm.
If you see geese with collars around Nanaimo, please report them using the VIU Canada Goose Project Canada Goose form.
