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Show : ,'4 t I i J PAGE 27 THE ZEPHYR APRIL 1994 v.w ref The vast majority of Canada geese will return to the same wintering grounds year after year as welL Hie binds we see migrating down through our canyon system in the fall are headwl for wintering areas on the Colorado River in Arizona and the imperial Valley of southern PaUfarnia, It is recognized that most migratory birds travel much farther south than their needs necessitate, and some scientists believe these migration patterns developed during the Pleistocene gradation, when these destinations were the first ice-fropen waters upon which the birds could depend. There are small populations of Canada geese that do not migrate at all, but live instead year round at a favorable wetland. It is generally thought that these nonmigrating birds are descendants of injured birds who could not return to their ancestral breeding grounds, but simply nested where they were. Wildlife conservation officer Brett Johnson estimates 100 to 150 Canada geese winter over in the Moab Valley, flying back and forth between the alfalfa fields in Spanish Valley during the day and file sloughs of the Matheson wetlands at night. I was surprised that such a small number of geese chose to live here year round, but Brett mentioned two main factors he believes account for such a small local population. Hie sloughs do not provide good nesting sites, as the peak water levels in June inundate shorelines and islands, and Spanish Valley alfalfa has a hard time competing with gourmet com crops upriver near Grand Junction. (Hie geese who are permanent residents of Grand County seem to share a lot in common with its people: with more prosperous localities nearby, they have elected to forego that greater ease and abundance because, for some strange reason, they just like it here better). ee ; ? ? ; ' ,i; i V: Pun& St ?UAant in SpeOtutUcm BBBB NEXT MONTH: More on Canada Geese from Mary and an anecdote or two from her husband, Jim Grizzard. i ' (502)896-258- 5 just wish I'd lived long enough to sit down for dinner with I i Li'l Li jnn. i 2206 Frankfort Are. Louisville, KY 40206 PRAWNS1STUFFEDIWITHIDUNGENESSICRAB Remember ? Where Quality counts, H Were a Kerouac kind And it shows. of place. e s p re s s o t iQtiEn Exctu&LueLu foi zNtghtPy "Before people found 'JLnnez Hondo Espresso, they were all mean and . at 6:00 fi.m. hung up, mon-B- ut now, everything's the Greatest." Come by for traditional Italian coffee drinks. Reservations 92 E. Center open 7 days accepted 259-429- 5 ESPRESSO FINEDESSERTS V' 391 South Main Street, a4i 4m - .i r.r.i . s located on the deck of Kaibab Cycles. |