Cackling Geese Seen On Sammamish River

Just north of the 90th Street bridge I saw a fair number of folks walking and riding bikes up and down the trail, but these "Cackling geese" paid no attention to them as they munched away on the grass.  Some folks approached fairly closely to take photos, as I did also.  The geese didn't object or scuttle away.

I had come upon them as I headed north along along the Sammamish River.  After taking a number of photos, I turned around and walked back south.  As I did so, I kept an eye on the grass growing between the trail and the river, on which the geese had been feeding.  I discovered lots of goose poop spread along this area for at least 100 yards south from where I had first encountered them.  I would guess they must have already been on the scene for close to an hour to have chewed their way through this stretch of land.

Conclusion:  Free grass clipping and free fertilizer!  What more could we ask from our feathered friends?

FYI: Cackling geese are a separate species that closely resemble Canada Geese, but are smaller in size.

[ to learn about cackling geese, go to this link: https://www.audubon.org/news/learn-tell-cackling-goose-canada-goose ]  

-- Picture and story by John Reinke, 1/17/2001