"Winter Shift: Geese Gone, Eagles Remain"

Painted for the sky--where absence makes room for majesty.

​It’s not every day one thinks about Canadian Geese—until, quite happily, you realize you haven’t seen them since Thanksgiving. The park and riverfront feel cleaner, quieter, with less mess underfoot and less commotion overhead. I imagine they’ve all flown south for the winter.

​A friend and I laughed about it recently, as she now finds her South Carolina farm overtaken by geese—her ponds in that scenic Pee Dee/Carolina Bay region suddenly alive with their noisy gatherings.

Part of me wishes they’d stay there permanently, that their migratory instincts could be rewired to keep them in the South. Perhaps during molting season, they might even push farther, reaching the Caribbean islands before circling back to places like South Carolina.

It’s strange—I don’t recall seeing so many geese when I lived in Florence, SC during the COVID era. Yet here in Peekskill, they seem to arrive in overwhelming numbers each spring. Goslings hatch, and the parents patrol with fierce devotion, ready to attack any human who dares approach their young.

For now, I’m glad they’ve gone south, just as I’m glad so many people are moving to Florida and the southern states, easing the density here and perhaps carrying away some of the restlessness too.

Meanwhile, the eagles have become more visible. I watch them soar above the city—graceful, unbound, their presence lending a quiet dignity to the winter sky. They remind me that nature’s rhythms endure: some creatures depart, others take center stage, and the landscape is never empty, only shifting.