Rahm in her sanctuary

Of the five geese we captured last fall, Rahm ended up with the best deal of all even though she nearly ended up being euthanized as we could not find a place that would accept her.

While Joe and the other three ended up in Fort Whyte's indoor pond and are still in there today, Rahm is enjoying her beautiful, peaceful sanctuary north of Winnipeg with new friends she has made. Shannon Kurbis, who runs the sanctuary, sent us some photos of Rahm and her friends and we were so delighted to see that she looked so well and was in such a beautiful place among friends.

Rahm is the one with the broken left wing. We named her after Rahm Emmanuel so that we could remember which wing she'd broken.

Joe and his three friends

JULY 5, 2009:

Joe and his three friends are still living in Fort Whyte Alive's indoor pond with 16 other Canada geese, a dozen snow geese, ten greater white-fronted geese, a lone sandhill crane, a lone tundra swan and about twenty or more ducks of all kinds. They all look healthy and it looks like they'll be remaining in this indoor pond indefinitely. It would be better for them to be outside in the fresh air with grass and sunshine but given that most of them are unable to fly, there are few good choices for them. At least, they're safe here, they're being fed, they have a good, clean source of water and they get the morning sunlight through the open windows. And Joe and his three friends are together safe and sound. This may not be the best solution but it beats being stranded outdoors during our long and brutal winters. We will continue to visit them through the year.

Videoclip of geese, ducks, lone swan and sandhill crane at Fort Whyte

We wanted to upload a videoclip taken at Fort Whyte of our four geese and the other Canada geese, snow geese, greater white-fronted geese, ducks, and lone sandhill crane and tundra swan to this blog but the file size is too large so we're uploading to YouTube and pasting the link here.

Please CLICK HERE for the videoclip.

Surprise! Surprise!

June 16, 2009:

We decided to visit Fort Whyte Alive to find out if our four geese were still housed at their indoor pond. We were not expecting to see them there since it's June 16 and very warm outdoors with open water everywhere. So we were surprised to see that they were still there.

All twenty Canada geese are still there as well as the snow geese and greater white-fronted geese and all the ducks. The Meanies, a pair of trumpeter swans who terrorized poor Joe back in November, are gone. One of the tundra swans is gone, which is strange and sad, because the other one is left here alone without his mate. They were inseparable during their time indoors and we have no idea why they've been separated. The lone sandhill crane is also still there, visibly upset about being indoors for so long. He pecked loudly at the wooden beam of the wall as if he was trying to say, "Get me out of here!" Who could blame him? He'd been indoors for almost seven months, which is a very long time for an outdoor creature to be inside.

A visit to our geese at Fort Whyte Alive

VIDEOCLIP OF THE INDOOR WATERFOWL AT FORT WHYTE ALIVE

MAY 19, 2009: We visited Fort Whyte Alive to find out if our four geese were still indoors in their waterfowl display pond and indeed, they were! They're supposed to be transported to the Richardson Farm pond for the warmer months but we have a feeling that the flooding in the south of Winnipeg is the reason for their still being here so late in the year. Most of the nesting geese have already had their babies so the relocation of the indoor waterfowl to the outdoor ponds of Richardson Farm is long overdue. They need to feed on grass and pond vegetation, something they cannot eat indoors and they need the sun and the open air so we hope they'll soon be outdoors enjoying the spring weather. They've been indoors since the end of November, almost six months.

We have also been keeping a close eye on Ms. Green, one of the three geese we had rescued and brought to the indoor pond. On March 9, we had observed that one of her wings was drooping. Since that day, we have taken many photos of her and we have come to the conclusion that there is no break and she is fine, which is a huge relief for us.

Meanwhile, these two geese are still nesting on the grounds of Fort Whyte.

Princess Margaret School: Hunter's art and letter

Hunter is Ms. Krochak's first grade student at Princess Margaret School in Winnipeg, Canada. Hunter writes:

Dear Earl and Choo,
Thank you for the DVD and card. How is the Canada goose with the broken wing?
Love, Hunter

Dear Hunter,
Thank you for your letter and drawings. It's so sweet of you to care about the geese. There were two geese with broken wings. One found a very nice, safe home in a shelter north of Winnipeg. The other one is with the other three geese at an indoor pond now. Both geese with broken wings will never be able to fly again but they are safe.
Love, Choo and Earl

Princess Margaret School: Jack's art and letter

Jack is Ms. Krochak's first grade student at Princess Margaret School in Winnipeg, Canada. Jack writes:

Dear Earl and Choo,
Thank you for the DVD.
Love, Jack

Dear Jack,
You're very welcome. We hope you enjoyed the movie. Thank you for your letter and your drawings. They're sweet. The geese are back! Enjoy them and enjoy the spring!
Love, Choo and Earl