‘A flurry of activity’: People flock to Dartmouth to see Sullivan’s Pond goslings

The next generation of Sullivan’s Pond geese make a splash at the popular park.

People are flocking to downtown Dartmouth, N.S., to visit the newest – and fluffiest – residents of Sullivan’s Pond.

The pond’s famous geese have welcomed seven goslings this spring and they’re making a splash at the popular park.

“We’re pretty excited to have baby geese up here at Sullivan’s Pond,” said Tim Rissesco, CEO of the Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission.

“The group of geese that we have are very famous. They’re the unofficial mascots of downtown Dartmouth and Sullivan’s Pond.”

Rissesco says people are coming out in droves to see the goslings, who are creating “an incredible amount of excitement” in the community.

“They’re grabbing their coffees downtown Dartmouth and coming up here, taking pictures of the geese, posting them on social media,” said Rissesco. “It’s created quite a flurry of activity.”

He said they were actually hoping to expand the flock of geese at Sullivan’s Pond, and have been asking the Halifax Regional Municipality to add one or two more birds to the mix, but the geese have done the job for them.

“The geese have kind of taken it upon themselves and they’ve doubled their flock this year. We’ve gone from six or seven geese to six or seven geese plus seven goslings,” said Rissesco. “The pond is pretty healthy with geese for this summer and everybody is watching them grow.”

While residents are welcome to visit the goslings, the director of Hope for Wildlife is urging people to keep their distance from the babies and keep all dogs on leashes.

“We know everybody loves the Sullivan’s Pond geese, and they’re certainly a part of the culture and the way of life in Dartmouth,” said Hope Swinimer.

“But it is important during this delicate time with babies to give them lots of space.”

The Sullivan’s Pond geese are domestic. They spend their winters with Hope for Wildlife instead of migrating and are returned to the pond every spring.

With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Paul Dewitt

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