Regarding the death of Gary the greylag goose — this lovely bird was a real asset to those who visit Quidi Vidi Lake.
Whenever I fed the wildfowl he (or perhaps it was a she) stayed back to let ducks and pigeons and gulls have their fill and then courteously would gobble perhaps four or five helpings of seed and corn, then would walk into the lake and swim away to watch the banquet continue.
There was another goose at the lake for years which sadly disappeared one night.
I hope the City encourages any wildfowl which needs a safe haven and an adequate food supply to stay awhile.
The ducks are never threatened by such geese. In fact, the earlier goose used to babysit the tiny ducklings of several ducks whose mates were injured or killed by eagles or gulls.
My husband identified the earlier goose as belonging to the species Ansa albifrons or “white-fronted goose.”
We called him Albie.
I shall miss Albie’s successor as I did Albie.
Long live the wildlife of Newfoundland.
Judy Gibson,
St. John’s
