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
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
'We have laws': Premier Smith says police action justified in Calgary
The actions, including the decision to use non-lethal force, to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of Calgary campus were justified, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.