\u201cThey\u2019re still sitting in Montana, Colorado, Nebraska. So, we actually still have a lot of birds still sitting up north. So, there\u2019s actually less birds here than normal,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n
A current waterfowl survey for this winter has not been published yet, so LubbockLights.com<\/a> does not have official numbers. But Johnson said, for example, about half the migratory birds on the Platte River in Nebraska have so far stayed up north and not come down to Texas.<\/p>\n Playa lakes inside Lubbock stay wet longer than those out in the country.<\/p>\n Anne Bartuszevige, the conservation science director with Colorado-based Playa Lakes Joint Venture, said, \u201cUrban playa lakes do behave differently than the rural ones. \u2026 They\u2019ve been sort of dug out and engineered so that they hold stormwater from runoff from streets.\u201d<\/p>\n What are playa lakes?<\/p>\n Playas \u2013 also called mud holes, buffalo wallows, and lagoons \u2013 are round, shallow depressions found at the lowest point of a watershed. Their basins, which are lined with clay soil, collect and hold water from rainfall and runoff, creating temporary wetlands.<\/p>\n Source: Playa Lakes Joint Venture<\/a><\/p>\n \t\tGeese on Lake Ransom. Credit: Staff photo.<\/p>\n \t\tGeese over Lake Ransom at sunset. Credit: Staff photo.<\/p>\n The concentration of geese comes with problems like scarce food and more chances for disease. That can also turn into trouble for people.<\/p>\n The City of Lubbock dispatched a warning about avian flu on Tuesday, saying it was found recently in wild birds in Lubbock and surrounding areas. The Centers for Disease Control said there have been 71 human bird flu (H5N1) cases in the U.S. leading to two deaths since 2024.<\/p>\n The city statement said, \u201cClose contact with infected birds, including handling them, can lead to transmission of the virus to humans.\u201d<\/p>\n Johnson said she heard a troubling report Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cSomebody had picked up a goose and was hugging on it, kissing on it. Don\u2019t do that,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t take them to wildlife rehab areas because they\u2019re not going to get better. Let the animal control and local authorities deal with it, and don\u2019t touch the birds. We don\u2019t want people getting sick,\u201d Johnson added.<\/p>\n Steven Greene, director of Lubbock\u2019s animal services, said he had not heard of anyone hugging or kissing a sick goose.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, we have had some persons interact with dead or deceased geese,\u201d Greene said.<\/p>\n \u201cAvoid interactions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Johnson said Salmonella and Cholera are also risks of touching the birds.<\/p>\n Playas \u2013 lakes of life<\/p>\n \u201cCritical\u201d is how important playas are for migrating birds, according to Bartuszevige.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re biodiversity hotspots. \u2026 They\u2019re some of the only surface water available for critters to drink,\u201d Bartuszevige said.<\/p>\n They also sustain plants, which in turn produce seeds.<\/p>\n \u201cThen the water also causes all these invertebrate eggs, macroinvertebrate things like fairy shrimp and stuff like that to hatch,\u201d Bartuszevige said.<\/p>\n Fewer wet playa lakes mean more trouble for migrating birds like Canada geese.<\/p>\n \u201cCompetition for food \u2013 the more animals you get in one area trying to eat the food \u2013 it depletes that area,\u201d Bartuszevige said.<\/p>\n But they\u2019re complicated.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s equally important to be wet as it is to be dry,\u201d Bartuszevige said.<\/p>\n Ironically, the playas need to be dry to recharge aquifers.<\/p>\n \u201cThey need to be dry long enough that the clay layer that is at the bottom of them dries out and that clay layer will start to crack,\u201d Bartuszevige said.<\/p>\n When it does rain, the water can get into the aquifers through those cracks.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re sort of an under-loved and under-appreciated ecosystem,\u201d Bartuszevige said.<\/p>\n Smart geese find the water<\/p>\n Migratory birds are smart. They know where to find the water, Bartuszevige said and Johnson agreed.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re also really smart because city lakes are not getting shot at by hunters,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve learned city municipal water is safe. We\u2019re not going to get shot at or harvested, minimal predators, et cetera,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have adapted to that, especially in the last 20, 30 years, to using urban water as roosting sites,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n But they\u2019re even smarter than that. There\u2019s a reason many of the migratory birds stayed up north.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there\u2019s food, if they don\u2019t have to migrate as far, \u2026 they\u2019re not going to because they don\u2019t want to expend that energy to come further down if they don\u2019t have to,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n TPWD and other government agencies study the birds.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have several birds that are marked with transmitters that we\u2019ve been doing over the last four years or so,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n![\"Geese](\"https:\/\/droughtmonitor.unl.edu\/data\/png\/20260113\/20260113_TX_date.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nGeese over Ransom Canyon. Credit: Staff photo.<\/p>\nGeese at Frank Higinbotham Park. Credit: Staff photo.<\/p>\n