Canada Goose – Frequent Flyer in Arizona

Summary: Ever wonder about those Canada Geese that hang out in Arizona all year long? Join Cheryl and Kiersten to find out some pretty amazing things about these waterfowl!

 

For our hearing impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

 

Show Notes:

www.Allaboutbirds/guide/Canada_Goose

www.birdnote.org

 Our email address, please reach out with comments, questions, or suggestions: thefeathereddesert@gmail.com

 

Transcript

 

Host Voice: Welcome to The Feathered Desert a podcast all about desert bird feeding in the Southwest region of the United States. (Various bird calls play)

 

Cheryl:

Welcome to the Feathered Desert! Today Kiersten and I are going to totlak about the Canada Goose.

It is what I wait for when fall is just around the corner, to look up and see these large, bodied birds in their v-formation flying over my head.  Sometimes, so low I can hear their wings flapping as they propel themselves through the air to their nighttime resting spot along a water’s edge.

 

I decided to find out a little more about these geese that to me represent a change in the seasons.

 

Kiersten: Description:

I love this idea because the Canada Goose always mean Fall is coming!

There are at least 11 subspecies of Canada Goose.  In general, the geese get smaller as you move northward, and darker as you go westward.  The 4 smallest forms are now considered a different species: the Cackling Goose. I love that name! (laughs)

 

These big water birds with a long black neck, large tan breast and, or large gray/brown body, with a large, webbed feet, and a wide flat bill.  They have a white cheek and a white chinstrap. This is the more prominent identification Canada Geese have a smoothly sloping transition between bill and forehead.

Very statuesque birds!

 

Cheryl:  Habitat and food sources

Canada Geese in habitat many habitats near water, grassy fields, and grain fields.  These large waterfowl are particularly drawn to lawns for two reasons:  they can digest grass and when they are feeding with their young, manicured lawns give them a wide unobstructed view of any approaching predators.

Thank you very much golf courses!

 So, they are especially abundant in parks, airports, golf courses and other areas with expansive lawns.  Two subspecies have adapted to urban environments and graze on domesticated grasses year-round.

 

Kiersten: That’s smart!

 

Cheryl: Birds are always one-step ahead!

 

In spring and Summer, geese concentrate their feeding on grasses and sedges, including skunk cabbage leaves and eel grass.  During fall and winter, they rely more on berries and seeds including agricultural grains, and seem especially fond of blueberries.  This fascinates me that scientists know they like blueberries.

 

Kiersten: I know I like blueberries, so I don’t blame them at all.

 

Cheryl: They are efficient at removing kernels from dry corn cobs.

 

Kiersten: That fascinates me! They have a lot more strength in those beaks than you might think!

 

Cheryl: Yes! You don’t want to be nipped by one of those.

 

Kiersten:  Social behavior

Canada Geese mate for life with a very low divorce rate (we could learn a lesson there!), and pairs remain together throughout the year.

 

Canada geese are known to be very devoted to each other.  These geese mate “assertively”- larger birds choosing larger mates and smaller geese choosing smaller mates.  Canada geese do not breed until their fourth year of life. That’s which too! You need to know who you are before you get involved.

 

Baby Geese or goslings (I love that name!) are quick learners.  These impressionable young birds use their mimicking skills to mimic the adult birds. Which is smart! You are on the ground and need to get your stuff together quick! Goslings learn how to swim just 24 hours after hatching.  Parents teach their young ones how to fly when the goslings are 2-3 months old. That’s when their flight feathers have grown in. It’s kind of hard to fly when you’re covered in downy feathers.

 

Cheryl: It’s fascinating that they teach their young how to fly, I thought they just instinctively knew what to do.

 

Kiersten: They do have to figure out what to do with their arms, or wings.

 

Migrating flocks generally include family groups and individuals.  Young geese often remain with their parents for their entire first year, especially in the larger species.

 

 

Cheryl:  Territorial behavior

Although usually very social during breeding season Canada Geese are highly territorial. Don’t approach those gosling! Territorial threat displayed by these geese may involve head pumping, bill opened with tongue raised, hissing, honking, and vibrating neck feathers.  If the interloper does not retreat geese may grab each other and hit each other with their wings.

You don’t want to get nipped by one of these geese. When I was young, my mom had to flee to the top of our station wagon when we accidentally got in between him and his goslings and mate! He went after my mom and she climbed on top of the car but he was still able to bite her and she got a big bruise!

 

Kiersten: Oh yes! My husband walked to school as a child and they had to walk by a pond. During breeding season, they knew to steer clear of the lake and avoid the geese. They’d walk almost a mile out of their way to make sure they didn’t get bit!

 

Kiersten:  V-Formation

That’s what everyone thinks about when we think of geese. The v-formation is a kind of synchronized aerial tailgating and marks the flight of flocks of larger birds, like geese.  Observers believe that each bird behind the leader is taking advantage of the lift of a corkscrew of air coming off the wingtips of the bird in front.  Each bird flies a little higher than the bird in front of it. This corkscrew updraft is called a tip vortex, and it enables the geese to save considerable energy during long flights.  This formation also helps the weaker of the flyers to have support through the migration flights. The V-formation may also enhance birds’ ability to see and hear each other, thus avoiding mid-air collisions. That is super smart!

 

Smaller birds probably do not create enough of an updraft to help others in the flock and don’t fly in vees.

 

It’s a bit controversial, but there does seem to be a lot of research supporting it. The older birds will switch places from the front giving the leaders a break during flight. The smaller, younger birds will not because of their size and that they are still earning the route.

 

Cheryl: This is all learned, as well! And they work well together as a team.

 

Kiersten: Yes! We could learn another lesson here!

 

Cheryl:  Whiffling in for a landing.

When a flock of Canada Geese comes in for a landing at a lake and you might be surprised by their appearance of laissez faire attitude toward landing on the waters surface.  But that is only the perception of you as an observer, if the flock comes in too fast or too high above the water, geese have a little trick to slow themselves down for a safe landing. The geese stop flapping and then quickly roll their bodies upside down, while twisting their long necks the right way up. 

 

That sounds like a yoga pose I could not do!

 

Finally, they rotate again to right themselves just in time to gently splash down.  This maneuver is called whiffling and it seems to help these birds to slow down quickly-but it might just be for fun.

 

Kiersten: It does sound like fun! Maybe it is both!

 

Cheryl: Yes! Fun and useful!

 

Kiersten:  Migratory or not?

If Canada geese are supposedly migratory than why do we see them here all year round?  Good question.

 

Up until the early 1900’s Canada Geese were almost hunted to extinction.  Yes, that’s right this large bodied bird that is so abundant was very close to being not.   

 

In the early 1900’s non-migratory geese were brought in by the hundreds to populate wildlife refuges.  Many of the geese that stay year-round are the descendants of birds introduced by game management authorities in an effort to revive some of the original wild populations that had been decimated by hunting.  I say that Canada Geese re-wilding was a success!

 

Cheryl:

When you hear that very familiar honking and look up to see these amazing birds flying in their V-formation hopefully this information helps to feel more awe inspired.