Neighborhood (Bird) Watch: Canada Goose (Branta canadesis)

Time: 6:20-7:00 a.m.

Weather Report: Mostly Sunny, 68°F, 70% Humidity, Winds: SSW @ 4 mph; feels like 68°F.

Location: Lake Riley in Cobbs Hill Park, Rochester, NY

Bird Species/Markings/Features:--many Canada Geese (Branta canadesis).

Sights/Sounds/Activities: Lake Riley is a large man made pond in which many Canadian Geese reside year long. Interestingly, Lake Riley (and Cobbs Hill Park) is directly beside the expressway and on-ramp which means there is nearly always the constant hum of passing traffic. Given that it was very early Saturday morning, the noise was a little less dense than usual. I had been thinking about walking down here to snap a photo or two for some time as I run, walk, and drive past this park at least once or twice daily. The geese are ever present here, and appear to be just as used to human presence as we are of theirs. It is not unusual for fairly large groups of ducks to come up to people who are visiting the park.

Notes: The digital pictures to the left give the false impression that this is a rural park, but in truth, Cobbs Hill, and it's avairy residents are just down the road (actually, "avenue"... Monroe Avenue) from the center of Rochester proper.

Cobbs Hill Park is also nearly always bustling with activity: basketball, softball, baseball, family reunions, picnics, Army Reserve physical training runs... Even at 6:30 a.m. this morning, as I was walking around the park watching the Canadian Geese, there were volunteers working to prepare the baseball diamonds and installing temporary home-run fences for this year's New York State Empire State Games softball games, which were to run from 8:00 a.m. until the gold medal games which are to be played at 4:00 p.m.