On December 16th, Suzanne called my office from her car on Laudholm Farm Road to alert me that she had spotted a Canada goose who seemed to be acting strange. The goose had been on or near the road as Suzanne drove by, and when she did it flew into the air, seemed to hesitate as another car approached, and then landed in a bush. When I arrived, the goose remained very still in the bush, only moving to peer at us cautiously. After a call to the Center for Wildlife in Cape Neddick, we decided the goose's behavior was suspect enough to bring her in to the experts.

I hopped over a snowbank and through the bushes to collect the goose, who moved slowly, getting more and more tangled in the branches. After carefully bundling the goose in a towel and placing it in a crate, we traveled to Center for Wildlife.

CFW staff determined the goose to be a small female, and ran some bloodwork. She was a little underweight and had a high white blood cell count, indicating an infection of some sort, so she was treated with anitibiotics and tube-fed until she was able to eat on her own. She made a steady recovery, and enjoyed her time in the CFW tub (see this adorable video!).

Finally, after 6 weeks of care from the rehabilitators and volunteers at CFW, we received a call that she was ready for release! Since the flocks of geese at the Reserve had already moved on for the winter, CFW asked around to see where Canada geese had been spotted regularly in the area. A flock of geese at Timber Point in Biddeford seemed like a potential match for our goose.

Early this morning, we drove our healthy goose out to Timber Point. We spotted some geese with our binoculars, and picked a spot on the marsh near the water for her release. As we approached, we spooked a small group of geese that had been hidden from view, and as our goose left the crate, she eagerly honked and skidded across the ice to join them in the water. We wish her the best of luck with her new flock!

If you come across injured wildlife, immediately call the Center for Wildlife's hotline at 207-361-1400, your local animal shelter, or a game warden so they can provide you with information and proper procedure for helping.