Geese

In a map of the proposed wildlife area in our Sepulveda Basin (Oct 26), you made reference to "Canadian" geese. Please be informed that they are Canada geese unless, of course, they are actually from Canada, in which case they would be Canadian Canada geese. There are actually three forms of the Canada goose: the cackling Canada, lesser Canada and western Canada. I'm not sure, but I think the ones we get are the lesser variety. BENNETT J. MINTZ Sherman Oaks

If you want to eat foie gras in California before July 1, especially at a feast dedicated to the smooth, super-fatted duck liver, your pâté may be seasoned with a grain or two of political theater. Outside Santa Monica's Mélisse earlier this month, there were news trucks, a cordon of friendly police officers, protesters waving crumpled posters showing unhappy waterfowl and rumpled counter-protesters with their own propaganda fliers, dancing around the periphery like boxers waiting to get into the ring.

They have their own Facebook page, where fans post photographs of them in their best light. They have loyal lawmakers who defend them against critics who say they are messy, noisy and menacing neighbors. Until recently, they had a lakefront home in one of New York's most desirable areas. But the Canada geese living in Brooklyn's Prospect Park also had the bad luck to fall on the losing side of a battle sparked by the drama of Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III. His safe landing of a US Airways jet in the Hudson River after geese flew into its engines last year made him America's newest hero and turned the ubiquitous, black-eyed birds into every flier's nightmare.

NEW YORK -- Warning of a possible disaster if something isn't done soon, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York is pushing lawmakers to make it easier for wildlife officials to cull Canada geese and other birds near New York City airports, where two jet-bird collisions have been reported in the last week. “We cannot afford to sit back and wait for a catastrophe to occur before cutting through bureaucratic red tape between federal agencies,” Gillibrand said Wednesday as she proposed  the legislation , which focuses on the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge near  John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The Canada geese might have flown away from the Chatsworth Reservoir with the arrival of spring, but that didn't stop residents and members of local environmental groups from touring portions of the wilderness area Saturday. Rosemary White, president of the Canada Goose Project, said nearly 150 people attended the event at the reservoir, which included educational hikes and a discussion about the geese, which can be seen in the area during the winter.

A senior health official warned Saturday that geese, ducks and other birds may have to be slaughtered if the recent mass killing of chickens failed to wipe out the so-called bird flu. Another person--a 19-year-old woman--was found to have the virus, the government said, raising the number of confirmed cases to 16. Four people have died. The woman was hospitalized in critical condition. Dr. Margaret Chan, director of health, said the eradication of Hong Kong's 1.

They come to the San Fernando Valley for the same reason people originally did--warm weather and bountiful agricultural land. They create such a raucous noise overhead that they've earned the nickname "honkers" and travel in such dense flocks that they are considered a flight hazard for aircraft at Van Nuys Airport.

The swallows in Capistrano usually create all the hoopla. But Canada geese, brownish-gray with black heads and white patches below the eyes, also spend winter in a southern resort. And, when they do, one of their favorite hangouts is the Chatsworth Reservoir, where, if tradition holds, they will stay until about April 1. On Saturday, nature lovers and their families were on hand to see the flock of Canada geese that began arriving in the area about two weeks ago.

The Calabasas Park Homeowners Assn., hoping to resolve the problem of a population explosion of geese at Lake Calabasas, will donate $3,000 to purchase a special pen to hold the birds until homes can be found for them. The association's board of directors approved the expenditure at a recent meeting, said Don Diamond, chairman of the Calabasas Lake Committee.

Southern California might not have much in the way of fall colors,, but it does have one sure sign of autumn-the return of the Canada goose. Migrating from summer nesting sites in Canada and the Great Basin states, these stately birds cruise their highways in the sky, resting or stopping for the winter in the San Fernando Valley. Canada geese prefer large, safe areas near bodies of water to feed and preen, and the Valley suits their needs.

What better way to welcome spring than with lambs, flowers and fluffy white geese? Charlotta Westergren proffers them all in this intriguing but somewhat muddled exhibition at Patrick Painter. Saddled with the ponderous title, “SERE: Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape,” taken from a military training program, the show gestures toward many topics -- fecundity, Christianity, torture, war -- but never quite takes a satisfying bite out of any of them. Sheep, geese and dead game, rendered in Westergren's skillful hand, evoke Old Master still lifes, photorealism, and, with their flat backgrounds, Pop art. The lambs in particular give the lie to idealized notions of fertility and rebirth, with umbilical cords dangling and hindquarters splattered with excrement.

CHICAGO — Swans have a seemingly placid demeanor, and their monogamous mating habits have made them a symbol of lasting love. But the creatures — generally white, with long graceful necks and a black "mask" around their eyes — are territorial and can be quite aggressive. That makes them good at driving off geese, but can also lead to disaster. Anthony Hensley, 37, encountered the uglier side of their personality last weekend in a horrific way. He tended swans that helped keep geese away from a condominium's pond near Des Plaines, Ill. Witnesses told police that a nesting swan circled Hensley's kayak early Saturday, then attacked him, toppling the kayak and tossing him into the water.

In 2004, California enacted a law I wrote that gave the foie gras industry until July 2012 to find an alternative to force-feeding ducks. That deadline is fast approaching. Foie gras, French for "fatty liver," is produced from the diseased and grossly enlarged liver of a duck or goose that has been force-fed grain. Multiple times each day for several weeks before slaughter, a pipe is shoved down the birds' throats and they're pumped full of mash, causing their livers to swell to more than 10 times normal size.

Trevor Shannahan lifts his custom-designed, hand-tuned, glittering blue instrument to his lips and plays the soundtrack to life on Maryland's Eastern Shore. " HA-RONK! " he begins. " HA-RONK! " Shannahan sways like a jazz trumpeter taking a solo. He crouches, bends at the waist, and turns to and fro, his hands fluttering as he blows a cacophony of honks, moans, purrs and growls. Close your eyes, and he sounds just like a flock of Canada geese. He is a one-man gaggle, and a young man with a dream.

They have their own Facebook page, where fans post photographs of them in their best light. They have loyal lawmakers who defend them against critics who say they are messy, noisy and menacing neighbors. Until recently, they had a lakefront home in one of New York's most desirable areas. But the Canada geese living in Brooklyn's Prospect Park also had the bad luck to fall on the losing side of a battle sparked by the drama of Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III. His safe landing of a US Airways jet in the Hudson River after geese flew into its engines last year made him America's newest hero and turned the ubiquitous, black-eyed birds into every flier's nightmare.

A 12-foot green anaconda has been captured at a Florida park, where it apparently had been feasting on waterfowl for months. The giant snake, a native of the Amazon, was spotted and captured Jan. 13 at East Lake Fish Camp by an Osceola County sheriff's mounted patrol unit. Toni Englert, who keeps horses at the park's stable, witnessed the capture. "The officers called me over and said, 'Toni, I think we know what happened to the ducks,' " Englert said. Englert had pointed out to deputies, who train at the park, that the ducks and geese were disappearing.

The county has begun shipping geese from Lake Calabasas to a ranch near Bakersfield, hoping to end a controversy over what to do about the birds, which in the past few years have become so numerous they pose a health hazard. Animal-rights activists, meanwhile, claim they were misled by an association representing homeowners who live around the lake. The Calabasas Park Homeowners Assn.

An Ontario artist who taught Canada geese to fly in formation with ultralight aircraft has found his wings clipped by the Canadian Wildlife Service. Wildlife officials say that, if Bill Lishman does not sign an agreement to stop taking geese and other waterfowl up into the air lanes, they will confiscate his 18 geese. They gave him until Friday to sign.

Chemical analysis of feathers has confirmed that the birds that caused US Airways Flight 1549 to crash-land in the Hudson River in New York were migratory Canada geese, researchers from the Smithsonian Institution reported Monday. The Airbus A320 collided Jan. 15 with a flock of birds about 2,900 feet above the ground and about 5 miles from LaGuardia Airport, where it had taken off. Both engines were damaged, but Capt. Chesley B.

Bird remains found in both engines of the US Airways jetliner that ditched into New York's Hudson River last month have been identified as Canada geese, federal safety officials said. The National Transportation Safety Board said experts at the Smithsonian Institution who examined 25 samples of bird remains made the determination. They have been unable to determine how many birds were involved in the crash, in which all 155 passengers and crew members survived.