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Lowell’s Newest Residents
By Mimi Parseghian
My neighborhood has new tenants. Canada geese are currently inhabiting the cemeteries along Plain and Gorham Streets.
Every year, I have seen dozens of them stopping by on their migration path. But this fall, it is different.
There are at least a hundred. Yes, I counted them. First they invaded Edson, then some moved on to Westlawn I; and this morning a few families moved to St. Patricks.
I see them every morning on my way to work and again on my way home in the evening. They really like to eat. And of course, they are leaving behind a mess. Ask anyone who is trying to visit a grave site. I read that Canada geese generate ½ pound to 1 ½ pound of droppings per day. You do the math.
I am not sure if these are migrating geese or if they are permanent residents. According to the State’s Energy and Environmental Affairs office, there are about 38,000 Canada geese who live year around in Massachusetts. If they are migrating, I should be hearing or seeing them flying down south pretty soon. There is not much left to eat.
Crossing Plain St
Well, one benefit that has come from this invasion, cars are slowing down while driving on Plain Street. You never know when a family decides to take a stroll.
Early each morning for the past week, a gaggle or two pass over my apartment on Fayette St. I am assuming they are coming from the “Duck Island” area and headed southbound. Maybe the same geese? I’m wondering if South Lowell isconsidered their southern destination?
It is possible that they have considered this area to be a good stop while migrating or they may be becoming permanent residents. The loss of open space and farm land has led them to having fewer choices for stopping. The apartment complex that I lived in on the Lowell/Dracut border had water on both sides of the road that lead to my apartment. One year there was a pair of geese the next year there were a lot more. I think some of the residents feed them from their cars. The geese got rather aggressive and would rush cars. There were geese jams. If they spend the winter, Cemetery management might want to look into Geese Peace. Some Canad Geese were brought to the US as living decoys for goose hunters. Those geese and their descendants have lost their migration skills.