'Mama Earlette': Canada goose's eggs hatch in Regina Earls restaurant's planter

CBC

20-05-2025

An Earls restaurant in Regina's east end welcomed two egg-citing new guests over the long weekend.
Last month, staff found a Canada goose had nestled up in a planter near the entrance of the restaurant and laid seven eggs.
"It was kind of a like, what do I do?" said Sarah Groff, general manager of the Earls location.
She immediately reached out to the Wildlife Rescue Society of Saskatchewan (WRSOS) to see what steps she should take — keeping in mind the laws around migratory birds.
Earls staff decided to put a fence up around the mother and her seven eggs to protect them until they hatched.
Over the last five weeks, the goose calmed down and got used to people coming in and out of the restaurant, Groff said.
Groff even handed the mother twigs to help build her nest.
Finally on Saturday, two of the seven babies cracked from their shells. Unfortunatey, the other five weren't viable.
"She had jumped out of the nest, she got the [two] babies out of the nest, and then we started the walk to the water behind Houston Pizza."
Once they all made it down to the water, Groff released the babies into the water, with their mother and father following closely behind.
Groff said that releasing the baby geese was "absolutely surreal."
"We really, really prioritized just making sure they got all together and they were immediately in the water and so happy," she said.
Bonnie Dell, executive director for WRSOS, said the Earls staff's set-up could not have been any better for the "little goose family."
"She put up the fence, she talked to her staff, she put an actual security camera facing the nest and put up a really good sign," she said.
Moving a nest with eggs can have serious consequences, Dell said.
"If she'd even tried to move the planter, it could have scared the mother enough that she might have taken off and just left the nest."
Removing a goose could also result in a "very steep" fine, as these birds are protected under the Migratory Bird Convention Act (MBCA).
"It is for every single bird except basically house sparrows and pigeons," Dell said.
She said for birds protected under the MBCA, a nest can not be removed until the entire nesting process is finished and the babies have flown off.
Any unwanted nests should be taken down as soon as the mother begins to build it, when nesting materials can easily be removed.
Dell was not surprised to hear the goose chose to nest at the east-end restaurant.
She said more birds — like geese — are choosing unlikely spots across the city to build their nests.
"We had more reports this year of people that were quite happy to leave them in the spot they selected outside their business," Dell said.
"It's a great spot to a goose. It's up off the ground, it's in the wide open. They're always watching for predators from above and on every side of them. So it's an open area."
After a successful nesting season, Groff said she hopes to see the geese family again next spring.
"We have Mama Earlette and we call the dad Earl," Groff said.