Home is where your nest is, even on a busy road
It’s a busy section of Fanshawe Park Road, between Highbury Avenue and Adelaide Street, at first glance cars going by might not even notice, but truck driver Nathan Watson did during his route.
“Earlier this week I was driving back to the yard and I noticed the Dame right here, just standing there and it kind of startled me,” Watson explained.
The Dame, is a mother goose, who has chosen a concrete planter in the middle of the road as her nest.
Brian Salt from Salthaven Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Centre said while it seems like an odd place for a nest, there is a logistical plan with this placing.
“When building their nest in a high traffic area like that, they set up a barrier to their natural predators,” he said.
Watson, among others is concerned about the mother goose and goslings that are still protectively under her.
“First thing that came to mind was, you know, if she's parked up a bed here, she can get hit by cars. It could be a car accident caused multiple accidents,” said Watson.
A mother goose has some worried about the placement of her nest along Fanshawe Park Road, between Highbury Avenue and Adelaide Street in London, Ont. pictured on Thursday, May 18, 2022. (Marek Sutherland/CTV News London)
While it’s a natural reaction to want to help, Salt says there are many reasons why you should leave the nest and the Geese alone
“The materialistic us says ‘there's something wrong with this picture.’ But in actual fact, the geese are seeing it from a whole different perspective and are much more knowledgeable above all of this,” he said.
Watson just wants drivers on Fanshawe Park Road, between Trossacks Avenue and Glenora Drive to slow down and keep an eye out for the young family as they will soon be taking their first steps.
Salt believes mother goose has been researching over the last month while sitting on that nest, and will know when it is time to cross the road.
“They know the traffic pattern,” he said. “So oftentimes, they'll move those little goslings in the cover of night so that the traffic isn't quite as great. They just seem to know, you know. “They're very, very smart that way.”
A couple of goslings were visibly moving around when mom shifted her seat on Thursday morning, meaning they will likely start to move around within a day or so.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.