Friday, January 7

Geese!

Yesterday, I got lost in Hurst, Texas. My loyal reader may realize that geese and motorists have the common feature that they honk. While I was lost, I saw a LOT of geese. More accurately, I saw a lot of pictures of geese. Or maybe they were ducks. It's hard to tell. They all looked like the photo below.

Goose (or maybe it's a duck) Warning to Motorists

Goose crossing signs are not exactly a rare sight at ponds and creeks around North Texas. One might wonder if motorists actually need to be warned that there might be water birds around water, but that is a subject for another time. Still, it seems to me that two or three goose crossing warnings ought to be enough. While I was wandering around this Hurst neighborhood in the dark, it seemed that there were a half dozen or more goose signs. They were as prolific as Canada Goose droppings at the Boeing Everett Plant.

I never did see an actual live goose, much less hear one honk. I think they tend to stay off the roads until daylight. For the record, I didn’t see any “dog crossing” signs. Perhaps the Hurst leash laws are 100% effective.


The Nearest Possible Water is Over Two Blocks Away Down This Hill.
Have YOU Ever Seen Water Birds Trooping Across a Street Half Way Up a Hill?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Duck or Geese, the chest of the big one is sorta dented looking, probably indicating to drivers (and cyclists) what happens to them when they get hit!

The time honoured custom of honking from both cars and geese begs the question - did you mistakenly count a goose honk as a car honk on the commuter charts you keep? Perhaps your not being honked at from cars at all.

Pondero said...

...which leads me to the question, "When it comes to those cute little, fuzzy, paddle-footed, tail feather wagging youngsters, can you really ever be too careful?"

Steve A said...

Have either of you EVER seen a water bird walking across a road more than two full blocks UP A HILL from the nearest water? And does one of those signs (much less six or more) really affect motorist behavior, even if there weren't a stop sign a mere 75 feet down the road?

IMO, whoever put those signs up ought to read my post on "shared space." Speaking of which, have either of you ever seen such a sign on one of our limited access highways, even when those highways are crossing waterbird migration areas?

Personally, I would go to great lengths to avoid running over a bird. I think the bird and I would bpth hurt. I'd hurt thinking about it after the physical wounds healed. Hitting a goose seems worse than hitting a squirrel or armadillo in pretty much every way.

John Romeo Alpha said...

Since geese eat grass, it is certainly possible that they would walk to where they knew there was fresh grass to eat. I would. If I ate grass, I mean.

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