Canadian eh?

text and photos : Norma A. Hubbard – April 2024

It is the birds that are often our first indicator that spring has arrived. Although some spring birds can and often do stay here during the winter, such as robins, we feel like warmer days are coming when we see our first robin or red-winged blackbird. However, for me the sight and sound of geese tells me that spring is truly here. I know I am not the only person who stops at the sound of honking geese to look up, but what do we call our geese?

It seems while people do refer to our geese as Canadian geese – and they are Canadian – the proper name is Canada goose. But who named them? And here’s where the wild goose chase begins. Oddly enough yet no surprise, the internet is full of references to a person named John Canada who seemingly named our goose, well, no. There is no such person! The real person to credit, and this is also no surprise, is the ‘father of modern taxonomy,’ Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778). He was a physician and biologist who designed a system of naming plants and animals. He originally classified our goose as Branta canadensis, which basically means ‘a black duck from Canada’. Since then, ornithologist have created several subspecies of Canada geese. The goose in our area is the Canada goose, and some birders will cringe if we call them Canadian.

Regardless of its name, Canada geese are a common sight in our area and while geese may stay year-round, most head north to breed and spend winters south of us. It is true that geese usually mate for life, plus they also tend to pick mates who are about the same size, known as ‘assortative mating’; this is something I have noticed with the pairs I have seen with the male being just slightly larger than the female. They start breeding at four years old and it is rare to see pairings at a younger age. Breeding pairs will have one brood per season with two to eight eggs. Cute little goslings will leave the nest within two days and will be swimming and feeding alongside their parents. Young geese stay with the parents for at least a year.

While the Giant Canada goose (Branta canadensis maxima) is the largest wild goose in the world weighing in at more than 20 pounds (over 9 kg), the average weight of Canada geese is in the range of 3 to 13 pounds. The average length is 25 to 45 inches (64-115 cm). Geese are very territorial and will defend their area, often returning to nest in the same place each year. The male, or gander, is especially aggressive when defending his mate while she is sitting on their eggs. Either parent will attack predators who come too close to their offspring. In any case, it is always a good idea to give these big birds a wide berth.

When geese are on the ground they are known as a gaggle, and when flying in their distinctive V-formation they are called a skein. As we know, geese fly like this to conserve energy as they constantly change leaders so the whole flock can stay together and no one bird becomes too tired as leader. In addition, it is thought that Canada geese do not abandon an injured goose. Although several articles about leadership mention how if a goose is injured and must land, that at least two other geese will go with it, stressing the importance of teamwork, I found no scientific proof of this group behavior.

At one time, Giant Canada geese numbers were in decline and even thought to be extinct but breeding programs and laws have seen an increase in their numbers. So much so, that in many areas they are viewed as pests. I can recall many years ago camping at Long Sault and being excited to see large gaggles of geese and saying to a park ranger, “Wow, look at all the geese!” To which he replied, and none too kindly, “Damn geese, they are noisy and make a mess everywhere!” By my third day of camping and hearing honking day and night, I understood what he meant, yet I still love the sound of geese in the spring – it lets me know warmer weather is coming.

Sources: All About Birds, Cornell University [online]; Ducks Unlimited [online]