Canadian Geese Don’t Just Live in Canada

Canadian Geese, once the herald of spring for northerners, and fall for southerners, are now year-round residents in most of the United States and portions of Canada.  Whether geese are charming additions or destructive nuisances is in the eye of the beholder.  Public opinion is hotly divided.

Canada, or “Canadian” Geese are Branta canadensis.  The terms “Canada goose” and “Canadian goose” are used interchangeably in mainstream news. There are between 5-11 subspecies of the bird.  Some scientists consider the smallest four subspecies to have their own name, and are grouped together.  The species name canadensis literally means “of Canada.” Canada geese are distinguished from other geese by their mainly black plumage. These geese weigh between 7-19 pounds, and have a wingspan of almost six feet. 

Geese breed in the spring, laying 4-8 eggs at a time.  While the eggs are incubating for around thirty days, the adults do not fly, and stay close to the nest.  After the goslings hatch, the parents keep a close eye on their babies, often traveling in a line, one parent in front, one in back.  A female goose can raise to maturity 50 geese in her lifetime. Geese are vegetarians, feeding on tender plant growth, aquatic weeds, grains and grasses.

Habitat

As recently as the 1950s, Canada Geese were nearly extinct in North America.  Conservation laws in the United States and Canada have brought the geese population back to almost overwhelming numbers.  Adult geese have few predators other than hunters, which contributes to their robust population numbers. Some geese migrate, while others maintain residency on golf courses, parks, and gardens.

Geese use their sight to protect themselves against predators, and prefer open, grassy spaces, with un-restricted access to water.  They prefer water access with a clear view between water and food sources.

Migration Patterns

Canadian geese are native to North America, but have been introduced as game birds in parts of Europe. The goose population of North America is split between migratory birds and resident birds.  No one species exclusive migrates or establishes residency. It is up to the individual flocks.  In general, migrating geese migrate south in the winter and north in the summer. The northern part of the United States tends to have resident populations year-round.

Factors determining whether a goose flock takes up residency are two-fold.  Available food sources such as grain in fallow fields up north, and continuous fresh vegetation in southern regions contribute to resident populations settling in.  Temperature is also a factor—the year-round populations continue to live ever-northward as global temperatures rise.

Migrating geese fly at a maximum altitude of 8,000 feet, and can fly up to 1,500 miles a day, sixteen hours at a time.  Geese usually fly in a V-shaped formation.  This formation assists the geese in traveling further distances over a shorter period of time, and flying for longer stretches.  Geese can fly over 70% further when flying together in a V formation.

The V-Formation of flying geese has been cited in numerous leadership articles and websites.  Leadership principles learned from geese are as follows. Geese take turns sharing the lead.  The bird flying at the apex of the V tires most quickly, as it serves to break up the air for birds flying behind it.  When that goose becomes tired, another quickly flies in to take its place.  As they fly, geese honk to communicate and encourage each other.  When one flock meets another flock, the two will merge together, seamlessly, and keep flying.  Leadership trainers cite goose flock leadership, communication and teamwork as attributes of their success that can be applied to the modern workforce.  These characteristics have no doubt also led to their abundant population growth.

Canadian geese mate for life and have highly developed social structures.  If a goose becomes injured during migration, a few geese from the flock will stop flying and stay with the injured goose until it gets better.  They will then join another migrating flock. At the age of two, geese mate for life.  If one of the pair dies, the other goose may find another mate. 

Friend or Foe

To people living in areas with resident geese, they are almost unequivocally a nuisance.  They eat everything in site, routinely destroy yards, dump tons of excrement and are large and threatening to small animals.  Resident geese also attract migratory geese as they “pass through,” increasing the populations for a few months over the year—adding insult to injury.  As geese are protected by migratory bird laws, there is little that can be done to “shoo” them away.  The most successful technique has been the use of specially trained border collies, who heard geese with their stare!

People living in northern and southern ranges of geese wax poetically about the geese as heralds of spring or fall, and welcome the sight of migrating birds.  Some might even attract birds to their yards by providing a fresh water source within easy sight of fresh grass. 

Over the last fifty years, geese have gone from nearly extinct to overwhelmingly present.  Whether you enjoy geese or find them a nuisance, they are once again, here to stay—a modern success story of animal conservation.

-Becca Reese