Canada Geese - Alberta / Edmonton

[bev.]

Two years ago I helped the female and her young ones cross a road here in St. Albert. the road is right by the  Sturgeon river.
Well, I was driving by the police station  and I saw the female in the air flapping her wings(quite low)

Now this is a 4 lane road(2 lanes  in each direction)
When I looked there were about a dozen young ones crossing the road and they could not get up on the curb to go onto the grass and down to the river. The mom was frantic. So she would fly back the other direction and the young ones would follow.

So I stopped my car and started to scoot the little ones to the curb and mom  flew to the other side and was taking  taking them  down the bank . A few I had to help over the curb.
Another lady saw what I was doing and stopped and held her hands out to the traffic, to slow the cars down.
 
Of course a few people swore at me and I never  saw the middle finger so much
I really did not think about the traffic. I could only see the poor things and the frantic female.

I later phoned my husband at the police station and told him that if they had any calls about the crazy lady that stopped traffic, it was me.
He is used to me by now.

I sure felt good though.

[Loriann]

The pitbull of birds,
is the king of all turds.
use the lake as their 'loo,
for their copious poo.
in water, grass and sand,
all over the land
for down by the lake
a big stink they do make
offensive to nose,
and especially toes
when in some you slide
and go for a poo ride
for our proud Canada Goose
has bowels so loose
and now they use dogs
to move these air hogs
but with a hiss and a spit
they continue to s it
all thru our parks,
quite oblivious to barks
they waddle and walk
and talk their goose talk
for all the birds know,
they run the show
so ends my poem of 'scat'
and hope you enjoyed that

( resurrected from the "Poetry and Prose" thread in the Peregrine room  and most appropriate for this thread. lol)

[Loriann]

It's actually illegal to feed any waterfowl here in Toronto.  Not only is it bad for the birds diet, ( too many carbs lol) it encourages them to congregate on the beaches and waterfront areas, and this would means a whole lot of POOP.

[moka]

Just a word of caution. Please tell everyone you know NOT TO FEED BREAD to the geese.

The bread is lacking what they need for a proper nutrition and they can develop Ťangel feathersť. This means they can't fly till the feathers grow in correctly.

I tell this to people down by the little lake in Southdale. They want to be helpful but this is not the right diet for them.

[allikat]

Cute story Carly! 

[carly]

Thanks for the link Eli.  Here near High Park there are alot of Canada Geese and they like to hang out on the lawns near the subway.  When I come home with any kind of bags, they will come over and try to grab my bags..lol!  I think because there are some elderly people that go down and feed them and they are always carrying bags with the food in them so now the geese think we all have food for them 

[allikat]

I love our Canadian Geese...I am very proud to admit that I can honk like them and have honked at them to talk to them.  I cry when they come home and cry when they leave.  They are wonderful!

[Elaine L]

By vulnerable, I mean that around our neighborhood I have seen kids throw rocks at them, and have seen the danger they are in when mom, dad and the kids are crossing the street in front of traffic, and how the parents lost their eggs when the water level rose in an artificial pond that developers put in when they destroy wetlands.

[Loriann]

You'd never know they were vulnerable.. they will come at you with wings spread, head snaked down , hissing and spitting and honking.. and those suckers have NO fear.. Lol.. they'll nip at you, the dog, any other birds or anything that moves.  I saw a big miserable old male chase a squirrell that had the audacity to bop too close to the kids..  and they are fast too..

anyone who's ever tried to 'picnic' along the lake will attest to their speed.. they'll whip a french fry right off the table before you have a chance to argue with them over ownership.. and they have TEETH   ( well not really.. just sharp serated beaks..) and they pinch HARD..

we love them anyway.. poopy King of Turd.

[Elaine L]

Loriann, thanks for the information. 

I have seen Canada Geese in action, defending their mates or their young or their particular piece of land, and it strikes me that they act pretty tough for birds that are so vulnerable to attack.

[Loriann]

Well i hope this helps.. i'm no expert, but have grown up around these feathered monsters.. so here goes.

The mom does most of the incubating, with dad not far off defending the nest ( rather aggressively too)..  chasing anything and everything that moves.( HISS SPIT STRIKE) ( funny... FROM A DISTANCE)
During incubation they lose their flight feathers, so they cannot fly during this time ( just waddle).
The eggs hatch in just under a month.
 They don't have a lot of tolerance for other adult birds, but i've seen them combine families of waddlers and fluffies for HUGE groups of wee ones waddling along behind a few adults.

[Elaine L]

Where is dad?  In the associated article on the website they don't mention him, but I find it hard to believe that he would take off and leave her on her own, without at least some protective support.  Also, does anyone know if the male goose spends any time incubating?

[Loriann]

We have SO many 'Kings of Turd' here by the lake, but honestly , other than ducks, they do have the CUTEST little ones. all gangly necks, beaks, and feet.  You will enjoy watching them. ( and this is safest way to watch, you'd never get this close to mom or dad normally.. vicious, hissing,honking, spitting monsters.. lol..

[Elaine L]

I know this is not quite as exciting as falcon or panda cams, but it is still nice to watch.  The local newspaper, The Edmonton Journal, has set up a camera on a Canada Goose nest with eggs, west of Edmonton.  I find that all birds are fascinating to watch, and the Canada Goose is no exception.  In case any of our forum fans are interested, here is the link:

Edmonton Journal - Canada Goose Webcam

From the Peregrine Chick - edited for space not content