Georgia Bulletin

The Newspaper of the Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta

  • Waiting to give birth, the goose sits on her nest in the Archdiocese of Atlanta Chancery parking lot. Photo By Michael Alexander
  • Orange cones provide a perimeter around the expectant mother goose’s nesting area.
  • The gander, foreground, stands watch and provides security for the goose. Photo By Michael Alexander
  • The goose is the proud mother of four goslings. Photo By Michael Alexander
  • The goose, gander and goslings take a stroll through the Chancery parking lot. Photo By Patrick Warner

Waiting to give birth, the goose sits on her nest in the Archdiocese of Atlanta Chancery parking lot. Photo By Michael Alexander


Something fowl took place at the Chancery

By Michael Alexander, Staff Photographer | Published May 13, 2015

Several weeks before Mother’s Day, an expectant mother goose took up residence in the Archdiocese of Atlanta Chancery parking lot in Smyrna, which served as a outdoor maternity ward as the goose prepared to lay her eggs. It’s said that geese will appear in pairs during nesting season, and that explains why the gander was patrolling the parking lot and guarding the nest.

To avoid any confrontation with the “baby’s daddy,” three parking spots were sequestered around the nest.

I was able to capture a photograph of the goose sitting on her nest April 28, and sometime around May 6 the she gave birth to four goslings.

The first parking lot birth took place at the Archdiocese of Atlanta’s Chancery this month. Photo By Michael Alexander

The first parking lot birth took place at the Archdiocese of Atlanta’s Chancery this month. Photo By Michael Alexander

They didn’t hang around long after the hatching. The next day the entire goose clan was seen walking north from the premises. Now that the parents have young ones to care for, it’s a good bet they have gone to some location where they can eat some grass and swim in a pond.

Have we seen the last of the geese? I’m not sure. Maybe they’ll be back for RCIA instruction. Or could they make a cameo appearance in Allen Kinzly’s Pastoral Plan video (Are we in there?) under the new initiative “Spreading Our Wings?”

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