By Lena LaJoy

As spring arrives, geese have returned to campus, and some University of Maryland students aren’t happy about it. 

Every winter, geese migrate south to stay warm during the cold months the north experiences. Once February and March arrive, different environmental factors help geese know it’s time to return north. 

According to Biology Insights, one environmental event that triggers geese to start their travel back north after winter is an increase in daylight. 

However, despite the extension of daylight this year, spring has not fully started. Cold weather has persisted, resulting in the geese arriving in College Park while there’s still snow on the ground. 

Some students at UMD have suffered consequences due to the geese arriving on campus. 

Tess Phillips, a junior journalism and public policy double major, said that she has been affected by the geese because many of them spend time on the field on Fraternity Row, where she parks her car. 

“My car, the last couple times I have gone to it, has been absolutely covered in goose poop. As a broke college student, a car wash a week is not feasible,” Phillips said. 

Madeline Burton, a junior criminology and criminal justice double major, said she is not fond of the geese on campus, particularly because of their aggression.  

“They aren’t very nice animals. They don’t really go away when you try and shoo them away; they kind of just want to fight,” Burton said. 

Burton also said that after living on Fraternity Row last year in her sorority house, she is used to the geese. But she feels like she has noticed the geese more this year than in the past. 

Phillips said she dislikes the geese not only because of their waste, but also because of her traumatic experiences with them in the past. She said she always takes the farthest route from the geese — even if it’s out of her way — to avoid them. 

Grace Adkins, a senior government and politics and English double major, also dislikes the geese because of past bad experiences with them. The geese’s presence on campus brings her anxiety. 

“When I was a little kid, one chased me a little bit but didn’t bite me or anything. But I know a lot of horror stories about people getting bit by geese, so they just kind of scare me,” Adkins said. 

Adkins said she specifically encounters the geese while walking across Fraternity Row, and she is often afraid one of them will charge her. 

All three women said they think the university could do more to try to help clean up after the geese, especially because a lot of their waste is being uncovered now that the snow is starting to melt. 

Specifically, Philips said that now, when she goes inside after walking around campus, she finds that her shoes are always dirty with goose poop. 

“Every building I go into, and even when I come home at the end of the day, I have to clean my shoes off in the hallway before I go into my apartment because I feel like there is an excess amount and it’s hard to avoid,” Philips said. 

Burton explained that despite the geese choosing to live in the field, it disrupts her everyday life when she needs to avoid them on campus. 

“When you’re walking to campus, there’s a big field, which I get that’s probably their home, but still it definitely impacts the way I choose to walk,” Burton said.

Featured Image: A flock of geese gathers at the bottom of Chapel Fields near Baltimore Avenue on Feb. 17, 2026. Photo by Paige Trendell.