Canadian Goose

Branta canadensis

Appearance

• 20 to 50 inches long.
  
• Wingspan can be 50-68 inches.
  
• Black head and neck, white cheeks and throat.
  
• Brown back, upper wing and flanks.
  
• Brownish-white breast and belly.
  
• Short black tail.
  
• Black legs with black webbed feet.
  
• Newly hatched look like ducklings with yellow and gray feathers and a dark bill for first 9-10 weeks.

Lifecycle

• Will breed fairly early in the year, with nesting usually happening around late Spring.
  
• During the incubation period, adults lose their flight feathers, so they cannot fly until after their eggs hatch (25-28 days).
  
• Females lay 4-8 eggs.
  
• These geese are family-oriented and mate for life.
  
• Their life span in the wild is 10-24 years.

Habits

• Location - Low areas with lots of open water to provide them with safety. The Great Lakes has a particularly large population of Canada Geese. In urban areas they have become a common sighting in city parks.
  
• Nesting - Typically on the ground on islands and shorelines. Generally a female will return to where her parents nested.
  
• Feeding – Vegetation, grains, aquatic plants.
  
• Migration – Migrate south when the ground begins to freeze in Fall. During Spring they migrate to their breeding grounds. Often seen flying in V-shaped formation whilst migrating.