Visitors to Aurora City Hall will notice new signage at some of the building entrances.

“Caution. Be alert. Nesting and aggressive geese. Use another entrance.”

Gracie and George, two Canadian geese named by city staff, nest each year in a planter outside of the building at 15151 E. Alameda Parkway. They’ve been coming for so long, city staff aren’t quite sure how many years ago the geese first showed up — it might be approaching a decade — or who named them.

“I think it’s fun, and it’s good for the morale of staff,” Mayor Mike Coffman said.

Although the city employees tasked with cleaning up after the geese aren’t as big of fans, the geese have earned a special place in most city staffers’ hearts, Coffman said chuckling. The duo even won the title of best “non-human power couple” in The Sentinel’s Best of Aurora list last year.

Gracie rarely leaves the planter before the eggs hatch. Visitors will likely see her perched in the planter as they approach the municipal center’s west entrance. George, however, patrols the area giving side eye to anyone in the area.

That’s typical said Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesman Joey Livingston. While a mother goose tends her nest, her life-long mate is usually guarding the surrounding area.

Many types of wildlife become adapted to urban settings, Livingston said, adding that “the main thing is, we want to leave them be as much as possible.”

“We are kind of in their territory, so it’s expected that they will be down in some urban areas,” he said.

Geese are federally protected, which means intentionally harming them or their nest is illegal, Livingston said. Moving or touching a goose nest with eggs requires special federal permits that are rarely granted, he said.

Some municipalities also have local laws against feeding geese, he said, explaining that bread and grain is harmful for fowl species and that too much bread “can actually kill them.”

Geese can be “very defensive of their nests,” which causes ruckus when people walk by, he said. Another pair of geese once temporarily shut down an entrance to the Aurora Police Department after they nested outside the building and chased off officers who tried to use the door, Coffman said.

If people do encounter an aggressive goose, Livingston says they should not turn their backs on the bird. That can prompt the goose to give chase. Face the goose and back away, he said.

“They’ll honk at you, they’ll flap their wings at you, but usually won’t come close enough to touch you,” he said. “For the most part, they are harmless.”

Although it’s impossible to know for sure, the odds are high that it is the same two geese who return to city hall each year. Geese are known to nest in the same spot each season, he said.

Gracie will hiss at someone who tests her boundaries, Coffman said, and George appears to keep at least one eye on anyone who draws near the nest.

“Once the babies are born, they tend to be really aggressive,” Coffman said.

Gracie and George will send people scattering if they come too close to their goslings, the mayor said. Although they have never hurt anyone to Coffman’s knowledge, the two have left a few city hall visitors that ventured nearby “scared to death.”

Once the goslings have arrived, nesting season for George and Gracie ends with a city parks ranger leading the family on a procession to a nearby pond, Coffman said.

Community College of Aurora President Mordecai Brownlee was busy running students through graduation rehearsals on Friday morning as the college prepared to hold its commencement ceremony outside of city hall. He stopped by to say hello to Gracie, George and the mayor during the bustle.

Brownlee is well-acquainted with Gracie and George. He and his family were introduced to “these two community leaders” when they moved to Aurora a couple of years ago, he said with a hearty laugh, calling them “a part of our community.”

The school debriefs graduates about keeping an eye out for city wildlife that live on the municipal campus, and Gracie and George were well-behaved during last year’s commencement, Brownlee said.

“They were amazing participants in our 38th commencement and we look forward to them being a part of our 39th commencement,” he said.