“My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth…Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep…The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night… The LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” 

Psalm 121:2,4,6,8

The geese are back! You have probably seen and heard the V-shaped flocks flying over, their unmusical honks telling us that spring is on the way. It’s an advantage for the geese to come back early, as it gives them the best choices for nesting locations. Soon they’ll be raising another brood of goslings. Once they have young it is best to beware, as Canada geese are territorial, and aggressively protective of their young.

Canada geese didn’t always nest here, or anywhere south of the arctic. That’s right – Canada geese used to nest in the arctic, and some races of Canadas still do, along with the five other goose species in North America, including snow geese, white-fronted geese, Ross’ geese, brant and emperor geese. The only times Canada geese used to be seen in Muskoka and in southern Ontario were during their spring and fall migrations. When Europeans arrived the Canada geese were eventually not seen much at all. Overhunting and habitat destruction greatly reduced their populations, as it did many other ‘game-bird’ species. That changed with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which provided much needed protection. Following the implementation of this act a profusion of new wildlife refuges were created, helped along by a number of captive breeding programs. The Canada goose population slowly recovered. The geese didn’t migrate as far south in the winter, and soon some of them stopped migrating altogether.

Fast forward to the present. We now have an over-population of Canada geese in Muskoka and in many other locations in eastern North America. Regulating hunting certainly helped, but their population boom is also because we have created ‘goose heaven’. Canada geese are grazers, feeding on grasses all day long, something like cows. The lawns of golf courses and municipal parks provide lots of food, water is right there, and the open spaces and docks provide loafing areas. With few natural predators in these urban and suburban areas, and no hunting allowed there, the geese are quite safe.

It’s no wonder there are so many geese. However, there is something else besides regulated hunting and ideal habitat that has made Canada geese so successful. It is also because of how well they take care of their families.  

If you have ever watched a family of geese, from a safe distance, you will have noticed that one of their number is always ‘on guard’. The family or flock always has at least one adult watching for danger while the others feed. The adults take turns, but they rarely let their guard down. This, I think, is one of the main reasons that Canada geese prosper. They take excellent care of their families.

We want to do that, too. However, even with grandparents and aunts and uncles, families can’t always be on guard. We certainly need to be, with all of the dangers nowadays for our children, and ourselves.  Thankfully God is always ‘on guard’, watching over us better than any parent can. He has provided the ultimate deliverance from evil and sin through His Son. Asking the Lord Jesus to be our Saviour brings us into His family, making us one of God's children. God the Father pardons us and becomes our loving heavenly Father, who protects and provides for us now, while we are here, and forever.