Thoughts by OddChick: November 2007

A nearby town has plans to build the biggest

Harley Davidson in the world.

Fairview, AB hopes to attract Harley Mechanic

students to nearby NAIT. NAIT is the

only place in Canada to train as a

Harley mechanic. You can read the story

it here.

Alberta is famous for having lots of

unusual roadside attractions. In

Airdrie, you can find a huge Cowboy.

Or in Andrew, you can find the

world's largest Mallard duck.

How about the world's largest Beaver?

Located in BeaverLodge. Naturally.

World's largest putter, Bow Island.

And this one is located in Edmonton. I

must check this out. World's largest

western boot.

And in Vulcan, Alberta we have

the Enterprise. I know a guy who

would probably move here if he

knew this. There's really a Vulcan, AB?

You can find lots more here. This guy's site

has been around for awhile and has developed

very nicely over the years and I have featured

his site in the past.Visiting some of these would

make for a great day trip. I must check some of these out.

Well, it's happened. It has snowed. A whole
3 centimeters. And the Geese are panicking.
All the Geese that have been procrastinating
are suddenly checking their daytimers.

The early birds started leaving about 2 or 3
weeks ago. But not these guys, they are
just shipping out now. They sound louder
and more panicked than the first crew or two.
And I think they are flying faster.

A friend of mine owns a house near a pond.
Or maybe it's a small lake. I think it's a pond.
Anyway, he said sometimes before the Geese
leave for their trip south, they rest on the
pond/lake and the pond/lake is totally covered
in Geese. That would be neat to see.

Here are some facts about our feathered friends.

Why do Geese fly in a V formation?
As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in V formation the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range, than if each bird flew on its own.

Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
Reminds me of Edmonton traffic.

When a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshots, and falls out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their group.
This would not happen if you broke down in Edmonton traffic.

Life expectancy of Canada Goose is about 20 years
Life expectancy of a Canuck is 75-80.
http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/health26.htm

Average weight of a Canada Goose is 20-25 pounds.
Average weight of a female Canadian is 153 lbs, for
a male it is 182 lbs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_weight

Geese mate for life.
Not all humans do this.

Geese can fly 60 mph but generally coast at 40 mph.
The drivers on the QEII HWY should

drive 70 mph but generally fly from

80-100 mph.

Average number of eggs in a nest: 5
The birth rate in Canada is at an all time
low - 10.75 births/1,000 population.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/ca.html

Average incubation time for a Canada Goose 28 – 30 days.
Average human incubation time is 280 days.
http://www.vardaan.net/pregnancyduration.php

During June adult geese lose wing feathers
(molting) and are unable to fly.
I have no comment to make here.

Here is a neat story about Harley the Goose,

who has imprinted on a man and his...what else...

Harley Davidson.