Duck, Duck-Goose!

Submitted by Paul Hetzler, Horticulture and Natural Resources Educator, Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County

We all love them at a distance, but not everyone wants them on their lawn or at the beach. These picturesque flying machines, sometimes reaching altitudes above 29,000 feet, have once again taken to the air. They are the honking harbingers of advancing autumn and coming cold (and sometimes, of bad alliteration), Canada geese.

The familiar voices of Canada geese overhead can at once evoke the melancholy of a passing summer and the anticipation of a bracing new autumn of color and activity. Kids return to school and hunters take to the woods, all to the cacophonous cries and the heartbeat of wings of migrating geese.

Through the end of November and even beyond, waves of airborne athletes—hundreds of thousands in number—will plow their V-shaped squadrons across the heavens en route from their northern breeding sites to their winter feeding grounds. In addition to the northeastern U.S., Canada geese nest in northern Quebec, Ontario, Labrador, and Newfoundland. They winter-over in southern NY State, Pennsylvania, the mid-Atlantic states, and other regions more hospitable than their arctic nests. Depending on how far north they nest, the migrants may cover nearly 1,000 miles each way.

When stopping for several days to feed at favorable locations along their migration routes, Canada geese will fly low from one feeding ground to the next. While they have been documented at nearly 30,000 feet, they typically set their cruise control for about 3,000 feet during migration .

On average, the Canada geese that wing by us this fall will measure between 30-40 inches long with a wingspan of 50-70 inches, and weigh around 8.5 pounds. The largest wild Canada goose ever measured weighed 24 lbs. and had an 88-inch wingspan, a record among all goose species worldwide. No one claims to fully understand how geese navigate, but being able to sense the Earth’s magnetic field seems to be critical. Visual cues, star positioning and even smell may play a role as well.

Among the things that endear Canada geese to us is the fact that they mate for life. From the time they begin breeding at 2 or 3 years old until they succumb to old age 20 or 25 years later, these birds will remain loyal (for the most part—there are exceptions) to their mates. Should one member of the pair die, the other usually selects a new partner.

Quite often the Canada goose is mistakenly called the Canadian goose, which is a different thing altogether. Research indicates the latter is extremely rare. It can be distinguished from other geese by the fact it always carries a Canadian passport, and is in general more polite. Although it will poop on lawns just like other waterfowl, the Canadian goose usually offers an apology.

According to the Cornell Ornithology Lab, there are eleven subspecies of Branta canadensis, the Canada goose, although some authorities only recognize seven. The finer points of taxonomic squabbling aside, a more important distinction is the one between migrant and resident geese.

While there is evidence geese no longer fly as far south as they once did due to our warming winters, the journey is still an impressive one. As far as anyone knows, Canada geese have been migrating between their arctic nurseries and temperate wintering grounds for millennia. In contrast, it appears that resident geese are a more recent phenomenon.

A small population of resident Canada geese was documented in New York State in the early 1900s. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) says these were descended from captive birds released downstate by private landowners. As the original population grew and spread, NYSDEC released captive-bred geese in the Albany area in the1950s and 60s, increasing the resident NYS geese population. NYSDEC reports we now have about 200,000 resident Canada geese in the state.

Unfortunately, geese—especially residents—have become pests in parks, golf courses and home lawns. Being vegetarians, they are happy to take advantage of grass. Their droppings elicit complaints on aesthetic grounds, and also because they may be a source of fecal coliform bacteria. And when geese pass overhead, there’s a whole new meaning to the phrase “duck, duck, goose.”

Also, male geese can sometimes be aggressive as they seek to protect their young. This is especially true during the four to six week molting season in June and early July when they are unable to fly well because their new feathers are still growing in. Balancing the public’s love of wildlife with nuisance complaints and potential health risks is a challenge for public officials.

No matter how much of a problem resident waterfowl may become, I will always thrill to the cries of migrating geese in autumn and spring. The poet Mary Oliver sums it up for me in her poem “Wild Geese.”

“Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting, over and over announcing your place in the family of things.” Rock on, Canada geese!