As the song famously goes, there are some things you expect from a baseball game: crowds, rooting for the home team, peanuts, and Cracker Jacks—all the trappings of the classic American pastime.
Maybe something you wouldn’t plan to see is a goose.
Chicago Cubs fans changed their expectations this weekend as a Canada goose came to nest among Wrigley Field’s centerfield planter boxes at the top of the bleachers. The team’s management took it seriously, and local newsletter Block Club Chicago reported that “dozens of bleacher seats were cordoned off with stanchions, signs and ballpark operations staff assigned to keep guard.” The operations staff were lovingly called “geesekeepers.”
This fine feathered friend from the Great White North was first spotted on Friday, April 4, which was the Cubs’ first game of the season. It soon became clear she needed a seating section all to herself for the next day’s game. Block Club pointed out, too, that it’s nesting season.
According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, nesting runs through late April. Canada Geese will make their nests “nearly always within 150’ of water,” and their choice of nests falls in line with the Cubs’ latest fan as well. Indeed, an “ideal nesting site” includes the likes of “flower boxes and landscaping in urban and suburban areas; and in doorways or on structures, especially rooftops, in urban areas.”
When nesting happens, the female goose will lay eggs and then incubate them for nearly one month, about 28 days. At this time, the department shares, “the male and female will both defend the nest.” This happened during Friday’s game, too. The male kept watch at the top of the stadium, but when fans banged on the wall near the female’s chosen planter, AP reports, “She honked and he did come back and he was up there for a very short time with his wings out and he was hissing,” according to a Cubs fan on site. Learn more about geese nesting here, with the Alberta Institute of Wildlife Conservation:
So, a little space is good for them right now, certainly, and it will keep both fans and feathered friends safe. Cubs Senior Director of Communications Jennifer Martinez told the Associated Press that, “At the Friendly Confines, we truly mean it when we say everyone’s welcome, including the goose and her nest who took up residence in the bleachers.” Martinez continued, “We’re giving her the space she needs while we’ve been working closely with a wildlife organization to manage the situation safely and responsibly, in full accordance with state law. In the meantime, we have blocked off the area to fans. Protecting our fans, and our feathered guest, is our top priority.”
For now, Suzuki seems happy, too. Block Chicago reported she was “looking out over the ballpark as gulls swarmed the bleachers below, looking for edible bleacher debris.” Coziness, real estate, snacks–what more could a gal want?
