Defying usual migration patterns, hundreds of geese have flocked to the grounds of the campus, undeterred by the recent freezing temperatures.

One cannot pass by the campus pond without hearing the boisterous honking of the hundreds of geese that have found a chilly rest stop.

Professor of environmental science and natural resources conservation Curt Griffin said that there has been an immense increase in the population of geese on campus this year, which might be associated with the unusually warm winter the Northeast has faced this season.

Griffin, an expert on avian ecology and conservation, noted that there are two different kinds of geese occupying the pond at this moment: migratory geese that have most likely come down from Canada mixed with resident geese, who are from this area and have not followed their normal migrating patterns.

Though the pond may not seem to be an appealing home to the students living at UMass, for the geese, it is an ideal spot to rest for the evenings.

“The geese like to roost on the pond at night because it protects them from predators,” said Griffin. “So at night, you’ll see them flying [into the pond], and then in the morning they fly out to nearby cornfields, wheat fields and golf courses to graze.”

Griffin said that the geese are perfectly capable of keeping warm despite the pond’s near-freezing waters, and they are partially responsible for the pond not completely freezing.

“They are very well insulated, and their physical action and body warmth are what keep the pond open,” said Griffin. “But when they are unable to keep the pond from freezing over, that is when they will fly south.”

According to Griffin, the only problems the geese of Western Mass. may be causing are the great messes they produce.

“Though this may not be a problem on campus, their defecation in nearby reservoirs can be harmful, because they can produce bacteria,” said Griffin. “This is one of the reasons why in recent years, the state has taken action to reduce the geese population by having an early hunting season.”

As for the campus, Griffin believes that the only issue has been the messiness in and around the campus pond due to the amount of waste the geese produce.

According to Grounds Services Manager Gary Glazier, the grounds crew has not enjoyed the messiness from the defecation, but it has not been a major problem.

“I think it’s really more of a nuisance to the students who want to have fun on the lawns, playing frisbee or catch,” said Glazier. “That being said, we would obviously rather not have the extra mess, so we have tried various deterring methods in the past.”

According to Glazier, one method that was unsuccessful was a spray-liquid with a grape odor that was supposed to ward the geese away from the grounds. Seeing as that did not work, the UMass Physical Plant staff has attempted to come up with other possibilities of ridding themselves of the geese, one being the use of border collies.

“I have a border collie myself, and know that they are effective against geese,” said Glazier. “But with a pond of this size, it would be very difficult and probably unsuccessful.

Though some may prefer to see the geese vanish from the campus, day after day, students pass by the pond laughing and smiling at the rambunctious geese, and some even stop by to feed them.

Sophomores Talia Holzman-Castellands and Ally Orzo do not want to see the geese parting from the pond anytime soon.

“We just started feeding them, but it’s one of my favorite things to do,” said Holzman-Castellands. “But yes, I like them, we’ve even started naming them.”

While Orzo agreed that the unusual warmth may be a factor, she also believes that the student feeding may have an influence.

“I think a big reason is that people like us are feeding them, and they’re having a consistent [base] of food,” said Orzo.

“If it weren’t for people like us, they would probably leave,” added Holzman-Castellands, as she popped a crumb of a bagel into the mouth of a goose. “But they just go where the food is.”

Taylor Snow can be reached at [email protected].