Moms on the Move — Humans and Canada Geese

Piedmont Patch reader Rebecca Littenecker writes,

"Tuesday morning around 10 Marie Retherford and I were walking west on Lakeshore when we came upon a very slow-moving group on the sidewalk.  Three women, one with a full double stroller, were escorting two geese and two 9-10" goslings from Wildwood School to Lake Merritt, where the ladies assumed the geese wanted to go.

"We helped them escort the geese to and across Mandana and onto the residential street parallel to Lakeshore (to avoid the busy sidewalk, dogs, etc.).  The other three — one in advance to check for hazards such as dogs and cars, one behind gently herding away from cars, etc., and the third pushing the stroller — continued escorting the mama geese to the lake. 

"One of the ladies called Animal Control, who, she said, told her to ignore the birds as any interference might cause the mothers to abandon their babies.  The mothers were staying close to the babies, however, and she was concerned that they would be hit, so 'Make Way For Moms' continued toward the lake.  The mama geese certainly did not seem troubled to be walking with us. A couple times someone or something got a little too close, prompting a hiss.  Otherwise, the geese just waddled on. 

"This morning [Friday, May 25] I spoke with someone who said she'd seen the birds wandering around Piedmont early this week. 

"Wish I could have stayed with the group to see them reach the lake.  Those goslings must have had very tired little feet."