Realistically there are no geese in Florida.

Throughout most of eastern North America the only geese that are native and common north of Florida are Canada Geese and, in the winter, Snow Geese and Brant.  Ross’s Geese sometimes appear and rare and unusual geese such as Cackling Geese, a Mallard-sized version of the Canada Goose, Barnacle Geese and Pink-footed Geese occasionally create quite a stir among birders most winters. More technically speaking, Canada Geese and Snow Geese range maps do show both species sometimes sneaking over the borders from Georgia and Alabama into the most northern part of Florida occasionally in the winter.

With that background, you can imagine our amazement on December 16th of this year when on an excursion to the T. M. Goodwin Wildlife Management in Fellsmere we stumbled upon a lone birder who told us she was looking at a couple of Snow Geese. (top). The Goodwin WMA is only open on Thursdays, and even more unfortunately will be closing for the foreseeable future for extensive construction work, apparently extending well into next summer. Even more unusual was the fact that with only two Snow Geese present, they did represent both the very common (up north) white morph and the much less common (anywhere) blue morph. They were hanging out with a large flock of White Pelicans and were dwarfed by the Pelicans when standing in front of them. (photo 2)

Of the three species that are not supposed to be in Florida at all, south of the northern border of the state, all three have afforded the opportunity for photos in the general Treasure Coast area, but only one, interestingly the least likely, has ventured into St Lucie County in my experience.  This Brant, (photo 3) was found and photographed on South Hutchison Island on the eastern shore of the Indian River. As Brant are high Arctic breeders and venture only along the east coast in winter between Massachusetts and North Carolina, finding one here in Florida was quite an experience.

The only Canada Goose (photo 4) I have ever seen in Florida was at the Vero Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant several years ago before all the open water ponds were filled with plant growth. Of course, that does not count all the decoy Canada Geese (photo 5) that developments anchor out on their ponds to discourage ducks and geese from congregating there. To my observation, like Great Horned Owl decoys on docks in the Indian River that property owners mount to keep gulls away, these decoys do not have the desired effect whatsoever.

But this doesn’t mean that Florida does not have any geese at all. Egyptian Geese from zoos and private collections have escaped into the wild and have become successfully established as a self-sustaining breeding population, particularly here in south Florida. It seems to me that they have increased their numbers and are spreading north. Recently one appeared here in the condo complex where we spend our winters (photo 6) and we have found a pair with young as far north as Sebastian, (photo 7) in Indian River County just north of Vero Beach. They seem to love the manicured lawns and ponds of developments.

Large flocks of Canada Geese and Snow Geese can blanket fields and almost darken the sky when they take flight. Brant gather along the Atlantic coastline and sometimes in fairly large numbers. They are much more numerous and in larger flocks on the west coast from Canada all the way south to the Baja Peninsula. I have not yet encountered flocks of Egyptian Geese and wonder if that is something we may see in the future.

Meanwhile we can enjoy the rare geese we see in Florida and be glad they aren’t gathering in the numbers sometimes seen up north where goose excrement in some public parks can be a terrible nuisance, particularly when it is spread far and wide over popular walking paths forcing walkers to do the goose poop slalom.

Like so many other things in life a few of something can be very attractive and exciting, but when they reach huge numbers they can become overwhelming and almost a scourge. Think snow instead of Snow Geese: a small amount of snow can be attractive and create a landscape that is an inviting one to enjoy and for artists to capture on beautiful paintings. But if it becomes a blizzard that will blanket your world for months, tie up all activities, create all kinds of dangerous conditions and problems and eventually devolve into a muddy mess, it can produce memories that encourage many of us to fly south like the birds to avoid such potential circumstances.

Also, there are some who might well think of some of us Snowbirds as “rare birds.” But then, those who think that of us as individuals aren’t referring to our scarcity, but rather to some of our individual characteristics. Like when I do something really stupid and my wife calls me a turkey. But then again, turkeys are not really all that rare here in Florida.

For another Hart Beat column featuring a Snow Goose, see: www.stlucieaudubon.org/hart-beat-2021?offset=1625112060057