Way back when I was a child, it was a rare event to observe a flock of wild geese, heading south in the autumn sky. Today, Canada geese are permanent residents throughout most of the country, though their legions expand during the colder months as migrant flocks arrive from the north.
One might argue that they should be renamed; Americans Geese would seem appropriate, especially since many of them never visit Canada. One might also suggest that they not be referred to as "wild geese" since they commonly occupy suburban parks and golf courses where they feast on artificial "grasslands," maintained by humans.
Of course, we have encouraged this transition, having replaced prairie with crop fields, enticed them with our many reservoirs and provided extensive, unused lawns for their patronage. Then again, human-induced climate change might have the opposite effect, making their northern homeland more inviting after all.
