Canada Geese – The Icon That Everyone Loves To Hate

I thought I would do something different with my Blog posts because Covid prohibits our traveling and therefore, I do not have a lot of travel/new photos to show or write about.

I have been going through my photos, thousands of them, and I have a lot of favourites. In this Post, I would like to share some Canada Geese photos that I have, I took all of them in Ontario, mostly Algonquin Park or Belleville waterfront.

I do have to say, Canada Geese are everywhere. We were watching a corny movie the other night about these people who went through the Bermuda Triangle and ended up in a prehistoric age. In one scene as they were paddling across a small lake to escape a prehistoric water creature, you could see two Canada Geese swimming along the far shore! I said to my husband I’m sure the director didn’t realize the geese were there. But then I thought Nope they ARE everywhere! And did you know, 50 Canada Geese alone can produce 2 1/2 tons of excrement every year. Holy crap…………………………………

Canada Geese, the birds everyone loves to hate. When you see one, you’ve seen them all. But I like to sit and watch them for a long period of time and you can get some really cute shots. Plus if there are no moose, fox, or bear around, well I need something to photograph.

They are the largest goose in the world and usually weigh between 5 and 14 pounds, although females are usually slightly smaller. Their life span is normally between 10-25 years. Of course, anything is possible, some geese grow bigger and some geese have been known to reach 35 or even 40 years of age. Females are known as goose and males are known as ganders, the little ones, who I love to photograph, are known as goslings.

They can be a nasty bird, I have been hissed at more than once. We were golfing in Banff, Alberta a few years ago and as we approached a tee block, there were a good dozen or more standing on it. They would not let us on, we had to tee off in front of the tee block. Even though we gained a couple of yards, it frankly did not help my score on that hole.

They mate for life and usually stay in large flocks. Now mating for life means that if their mate dies, they will find another mate. Some people think that means they have one mate only, that would be kind of sad. In the spring, the geese couples break off from the other geese and find a nesting site which they defend vigorously, usually the same site or area as the previous year. However, if there is a large population, they may have their nesting sites in view of another family. The male will guard the nest for the female as she incubates the eggs which takes about 25- 28 days. The nest is built on the ground and is made up of dry grasses, moss, other plants and lined with their own down and feathers. The nest will hold between 2-11 eggs which are laid one at a time every day or two. She will leave the nest once or twice a day to eat, drink and bathe but once all the eggs are laid, she will not leave the nest at all until the eggs are hatched. Why? Well apparently any feces will attract predators and could also cause bacteria in the nest which is not good for the eggs. 

The goslings will stay with their parents for a year. Sometimes you will see more than one family traveling together, safety in numbers I guess! I think goslings are adorable and they learn to swim the day they are born. Flying is learned when they are a couple of months old.

Geese will remain throughout the winter if there are areas with lots of food resources and open water. They like to eat grasses, grains, aquatic plants and berries and seeds. You will often see them in farmer’s fields eating grains and they will eat corn off the cobs.

They can travel more than 1000 km in one day flying in a V formation because of the drafting effect.  The geese following the leader benefit from air currents passing the leader which means expending less energy when flying and also for communication purposes when coordinating the movement of the flock. 

They do have predators, among them are humans. I remember once, on another golf course, we came up to the green and there were about a dozen geese laying dead around the green. It was pretty obvious they had been poisoned so I mean you be the judge……………..It was very upsetting to see. They have other predators which include foxes, coyotes, wolves, owls, eagles, raccoons and a few others.

So that’s that for today. I am working on a Post on “Perspective in Photography” and I have more wildlife photos to share. I have been working on posts similar to this one but highlighting other wildlife i.e. moose, bears, loons, foxes……….well you get the picture!

The province of Ontario, where I live, is under new stay-at-home orders even though we thought we were under the old stay-at-home orders and both sets of orders are virtually the same………..we think.

Anyways, stay home and stay safe Everyone!