Canada Geese - Alberta / Edmonton

[Elaine L]

One of the chicks has hatched!  But as if this site doesn't have enough drama, mom was just chased off the nest by another neck-pecker!

[Kinderchick]

Yesterday, Mother Goose appeared to have left her nest for about 6-8 hours. I was almost certain she had abandoned her nest.  But there she was, back "incubating", this morning.  The Kinderchicklets and their teacher have watched her come and go quite a bit today. She rolled her eggs around several times today and this morning we had a very clear view of 7 eggs. Around 3:00 PM Winnipeg time, she got up, covered most of her eggs with straw, as if to "tuck them in", then off she went and hasn't been back since. Sure do wonder what she's up to.

[Jo]

I just checked in and she's on the eggs now.

They have a nice summary of the situation. Well - the situation isn't sounding that nice - but it was informative and well written (so that was the nice part).

[Elaine L]

Well, we still do not know where we are at with Mother Goose and her eggs.  She has been more off the eggs, than on, over the last few days.  The Edmonton Journal says that they don't know what is going on, either:  

This has been quite the emotional rollercoaster. We don't know what's going to happen, but we share your concern about whether the eggs are viable, given how long she has been leaving them uncovered. We're leaving the camera on for now, since she keeps coming back. Thank you for your kind words. Thanks too to those who have shared links to other birdcams.

Mom is on the eggs right now, and I am thinking that she knows best whether or not her eggs are going to hatch.  And, of course, I hate to think that after all the drama on this site, and all the gander attacks she endured, that she would not have any chicks; but the main thing is that she survives to have chicks another day.

The temperature here today is 3 above at present.  

[allikat]

There have been several posts on the site Kinderchick.....no one knows the answer except for Mama Goose.

[Kinderchick]

Mother Goose has been off her eggs for about 6 hours now. I think that she left around 12:00 noon, Winnipeg time. What is the weather like in Edmonton?  Is that a reasonable amount of time for her to leave, so close to hatching?

[Jo]

I tuned in when Ms. Goose had left the nest and I counted 6 eggs. From the posts on the site it doesn't sound like neck pecker has returned. . . that must be a relief for Ms. Goose.

She posted a picture on Twitter from last year when they had snow: http://twitter.com/JournalGooseCam

[The Peregrine Chick]

The eggs are probably okay for short periods of time, even in this weather - particularly since its snow, not rain.  It takes a long time to freeze them.  And if Mom had to get off, you know it wasn't a frivoulous choice, she had to get off.  Better she stays alive than lose her and all her eggs/chicks.

[Kinderchick]

Thanks Elaine. Yes, that is helpful. Hopefully a few will hatch.

[Elaine L]

Kinderchick, I checked your questions on the replay of the online chat, and although I did not see an answer to all your questions, the wildlife person did say that "the mother is usually able to tell if the goslings are alive within the shell. Once they reach a certain developmental stage the goslings will peep within the shell."  She also said that the Mother knows instinctively how things are going with the eggs, and she also knows how long she can leave them uncovered.

The photographer, Bruce Edwards, pointed out that the gander is usually sitting near the goose, just off-camera, and that he is never far from her.  So even though we wondered if he was off galavanting someplace while his mate was being attacked, Bruce Edwards says that that he keeps watch at all times, but we just can't see this. The gander's first instinct is to protect the eggs and the goose, no matter what, and he will lead predators away from the nest to pursue him.

They said that (similar to falcons), half of all geese either die in the shell or die in their first year.

This is all I was able to glean from the online chat.  Hope this helps.

[Kinderchick]

Yes, at about 10:30 AM Winnipeg time, we noticed that Mama Goose had left her eggs for about 20 mins. She's back on her eggs now. Sure do hope a few chicks will hatch, but not sure how long they can be left uncovered in the snow and still survive. If they were all frozen and none were viable, would Mother Goose know that and then abandon her nest? Is she still incubating because she "knows" that there are some still alive? Can she tell by the sound and the smell?

[carly]

Oh poor mom, hang in there girl! 

[The Peregrine Chick]

Not sure, but I think I would prefer to be on eggs than trying to keep new chicks alive in this weather ..... here's our mom on her eggs still ... hang in there Mom ...

[Elaine L]

Goosecam is back up!  Mom has likely gone off to get something to eat.  I don't know how many eggs are left, but from what the online chatters say, there are only 6 left, as 2 broke over the course of the last few days.  But looking at the nest now, and of course it is really hard to tell with all the snow, there only seems to be 4.  I hope the remaining eggs, however many there are, are o.k.

[Elaine L]

The Edmonton Journal had an online chat with all the goose-watchers yesterday afternoon, and the wildlife expert on the chatline said that neckpecker had left the building.  Apparently, he and his mate had chicks that hatched last week, so they are gone, but now there are other geese in the vicinity who are in the process of hatching their eggs, so there is still some territorial conflict, only so far not as bad as the neckpecker gander. 

This morning the camera went down because of the weather here (lots of wet snow, wind, limited visibility, but it is not cold (temp. about 1 degree Celsius)), and Mom Goose was covered in it.  So now we have to wait for the photographer, Bruce Edwards, to get the camera up and running again, which he says he will do, he hopes with as little inconvenience to Mom as possible.  We will have to wait and see if the camera is working again later this morning.  Meanwhile, I hope our Mother Goose is comfortable and is able to keep her eggs warm; at least with goose down, that should not be too difficult.