Wesley's Backyard Birds
Canadian Geese
Canadian Geese seem to constantly fly over our house during the winter, honking the whole time. Almost daily in the winter they're landing in the field behind us to rest for the night. Most of the Geese fly back north in the summer but many stay around here year round as well.
The most familiar and widespread goose in North America, the Canada Goose can be found in all kinds of water all across the continent, from the tundra to the Gulf Coast. At least 11 subspecies of Canada Goose have been recognized, although only a couple are distinctive. In general, the geese get smaller as you move northward, and darker as you go westward. The four smallest forms are now considered a different species: the Cackling Goose. It breeds in Canada and the northern United States. During the second year of their lives, Canada Geese find a mate and are monogamous, and most couples stay together all of their lives.
By the early 20th century, over-hunting and loss of habitat in the late 1800s and early 1900s had resulted in a serious decline in the numbers of this bird in its native range. The Giant Canada Goose subspecies was believed to be extinct in the 1950s until, in 1962, a small flock was discovered wintering in Rochester, Minnesota. With improved game laws and habitat recreation and preservation programs, their populations have recovered in most of their range, although some local populations, especially of the subspecies occidentalis, may still be declining. |
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