Canada Geese make an early February return to Portage

On Tuesday, no wild goose chase was necessary to find a pair of Canada Geese hanging out by Crescent Lake in Portage la Prairie. 

In what would be a regular occurrence in the spring or summer, spotting two Canada Geese in Portage in February seems like a blue moon. 

The early arrival has stumped PortageOnline, with more questions than answers arising from the geese returning to the community before the Super Bowl.

In reference to a PembinaValley article in 2017, Jacques Bourgeois, with Oak Hammock Marsh, said that a couple of factors might trigger a bird's senses to fly back north. Firstly, they see the hours of daylight and notice that days are getting longer, prompting them to realize that it is time to go back and nest again. The other factor is the warmer weather.

"When the first geese arrive, usually you will find that spring is around the corner," he said.

Well, it has felt like spring all winter, partly thanks to El Niño; it does appear Portage is set to get some snow and cool off as we look at the Environment and Climate Change Canada forecast.

Back in 2017, the record for the earliest return of Canada Geese to the Oak Hammock Marsh was February 21. It appears these Portage geese said, "Hold my beak!"