Welcome to the School of Law's Goose Cam!
A small family of Canada geese returned for their third year to nest in the law school’s 5th floor atrium, located across the hall from our Clinical Legal Education office. We named mama goose Ruth Bader Gooseburg and enjoyed watching her tend to her eggs via our GooseCam (now no longer available online).
Unfortunately, the goslings cannot survive in our atrium. Members of the SPCA Serving Erie County and the NY Wildlife Department performed an extraction, relocated the new family to a brooding area, where they joined with other Canada geese families, called a crèche.
U.S. federal law protects Canada geese. It is illegal to harm geese, their eggs, or their nests in the United States without permission from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). USFWS takes this very seriously, and “harm” is interpreted broadly to include disturbance of any kind.
Thankfully, the law school had many watchful eyes on mom to be sure nothing happens to her and her gestating goslings.