Canada goose nesting at Vancouver Convention Centre not a mother-to-be

A Canada goose has found an unusual – but scenic – place to nest: in a flowerbed, steps away from the Vancouver Convention Centre and seawall.

“I just wanted to see the goose nesting because I’ve never seen a bird nesting before and I thought it would look kind of cool,” one boy admiring the bird said.

Vancouver Convention Centre staff taped off the goose nest after noticing it on Friday. The bird has been named Heli, after local helicopter operator Helijet, which had to relocated a landing because of the bird.

“It’s so cool. I don’t think I’ve ever been this close to a goose. I’ve never seen one so still really. It’s a bit worrying though isn’t it,” another passerby said.

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Despite previous theories that Heli was laying eggs, it appears the goose won’t become a mom this time around. The Vancouver Park Board addled her nest Monday morning as part of its ongoing work to limit the Canada goose population. It says it has successfully addled over 100 nests since nesting season began at the start of April.

“There’s a lot of tools you can use to manage people – wildlife conflict, addling eggs is one of them,” said Jesse Zeman, Executive Director, B.C. Wildlife Federation.

Zeman says there aren’t a lot of places for wildlife to exist anymore in the Lower Mainland so he’s not surprised Heli nested where she did.

“They’re looking for a place to find a nest and they’re exploiting places where you know they’re gonna be close to water, they’re not gonna be worried about predators and that’s a spot.”

“I think it’s pretty awesome” Mom: “It’s kind of a funny spot for a goose to have a nest, isn’t it,” one child said.

The Convention Centre says it will continue to encourage people passing by Heli to maintain their distance.