Goose playground

Canada geese plod across the lake ice

Photo by Christopher Gannon.

Geese march across the ice toward open water on Lake LaVerne earlier this month. The numbers of Canada geese hanging out at the lake have ebbed and flowed this winter. Some days, there's a dozen; other days it's in the hundreds. The lake's open water and central Iowa's relatively mild winter attract both local and migratory birds, but campus services manager Les Lawson said the goose deterrent light installed this fall seems to be working. The geese are not on the water at night, but only during daylight hours when the light is off, he said. Heads up, south campus pedestrians.