Lubbock Has Gone To The Birds
By: Meredith Hillgartner
Updated: December 5, 2012
The playa lakes in Lubbock are a lot more crowded these days.
"Some winters there is 30,000/40,000 of them," Carver said.
Cameron Carver is the President of the Audubon Association here in Lubbock, a national bird watching club.
"They breed up in Canada," Carver said. "And come up here. Both of them come down here in big numbers from about October to March. Canada geese, which are the bigger of the two white chinned geese, they all breed up north. Cackling are like pigmies, they are the toy Canada geese."
Carver said six different kinds of geese spend their winter in Lubbock, but Canada and Cackling are the most common.
And yes that is Canada geese--not Canadian.
"I think a lot of it has to do with the wheat," Carver said. "They stop and eat the wheat. The playa lakes just provide a good roosting spot for them. I think in the past historically they didn't stop here as much before the wheat was planted."
Roosting is when the geese lay around and wade in the lakes.
"They just lay around and be lazy," Carver said. "They are the Homer Simpson's of the bird world."
Carver said you can hunt the geese, just make sure you are in the right spot.
"Canada and Cackling, there is a season from about late October through end of January," But you can't hunt them in the city. You have to hunt them outside the city limits."
