Birds of the Northeast

JANUARY, 2005

he other day, when I was getting out of my car on one of those necessary trips to the supermarket, I looked up and saw on of Nature’s show stoppers—a flock of over 200 Canada Geese flying in “V” formation overhead.  They were low; it was a yucky, cloudy day.  I stood by the car and watched until they flew out of sight.

They were close enough for me to see some were smaller than others.  I assume the smaller birds were the young of the year.  There are at least 10 different ‘races’ of Canada Geese—“lesser” and “Greater” and those in between.  The race in our area is generally known as the ‘Atlantic’ race; it is a ‘large’ race but not as large as the “Maxima” race found between Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba and down to Minnesota.

Since they were flying so close to me, I was actually glad they were not any larger.  I was just hoping the “V” would get over the spot where I was standing prior to having one of them have an ‘act of nature’ on my head or shoulders.  This month’s Messenger would have a blazing headline: “Bird Lady Target of Goose Revenge” or something like that.  Not a pleasant thought.  Fate spared me. 

Of course, the geese were “talking” to each other as they always do when they fly—a sort of honking gabble that seems meaningless to us, but no doubt of real significance in the goose world.

They ‘take turns’ being “Goose One” at the front of the “V” as that is the most exhausting position to be in.  The reason is quite simple: “Goose One" gets all the air coming at him or her.  (In the Canada Geese world, the males and females look alike.)  Behind and slightly off to one side of "Goose One" are the next geese, they plainly do not have the same amount of air smacking them since "Goose One" blocks some of it.  And so on and so on—straight down the lines of the “V”.  So Goose One gets tired faster than his or her buddies and after a awhile it simply ‘drops back’ in line—usually all the way to the rear.  He or she may not get to be “Goose One” again for many weeks depending on how long a flight the flock is taking. 

If they are hanging around our area, spending nights on Merrill Creek, Mountain Lake, or Round Valley, and spending days culling dropped corn kernels from picked fields, or nibbling on sprouting winter wheat, they won’t fly far.  So Good One probably won’t change as often.

A few Canada Geese nest in our area.  I’m reminded of the flock which nests around the ponds at Hartman’s Corner.  I’m not sure of the history of that flock, but the original gees of that bunch MAY have been "introduced.” Or they may have been wild ones who saw a nice cluster of little ponds and told each other flying to Canada to lay eggs was stupid when such a good nesting area is right here in Warren County.  Canada Geese are NOT INCONSPICUOUS as they nest or feed.  When the ‘mama’ and 'papa’ weigh 14 or 15 pounds and are sometimes more than a yard from head to tail, with a wing spread of nearly 5 feet—you can see them. 

When the goslings hatch, they start eating as soon as their downy features dry.  Like their parents, the goslings feed on insects, plant leaves, seeds, berries, and roots found around the ponds and marshlands.  In a relatively short time, the young birds are taking short flights, building up their flying muscles.

Just think of incubating a nest in March and gathering flocks of geese in late June.  Guess who had to do a LOT of growing after they were hatched to be flying short distances by late June?  Those goslings with the hearty appetites!

When I worked at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Utah, we had a small flock of resident geese.  Watching the goslings feed, I can say they fed mostly on mosquitoes and other insects in the short grasses.  They would eat grass as well, as anyone who has tried walking in an area where geese have been feeding can tell you.  Your shoes become bright green from ‘goose dropping’—which closely resemble damp, green, wet, skinny hot dogs.

Which brings me to the problem Canada Geese are having as I write---right here in New Jersey.  There have been more than one flock who have realized flying to Canada to nest is pointless when there are cute little ponds all over the Garden State.  The geese have failed to realize the cute little ponds are what golfers call “water hazards” and they are found on golf courses.  Also some flocks have set up housekeeping on the well-manicured, landscape-designed parks and green spaces found around big corporate headquarters.  Tee hee!  Guess who has to put up with the green ‘hot dogs’ on their beautiful lawns?  Corporate big wigs.  Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to think of such high-minded mucky-mucks being more than put-out by the geese and the green ‘hot dogs.’ I love it! (Comments expressed by this writer are not necessarily those of the management). 

The geese pooping on lawns and golf courses are wonderfully protected by LAWS!  No one can go shooting them off their nests

And, by the time the geese are flying in the fall—when the hunting season is open—they are FAR from the golf courses and corporate lawns.  It is another example of “Nature Batting Last” --we can mess around with the environment, building condos near marshy areas, and building beaucoup corporate headquarters, and malls---and the geese come back and poop on them.  Your writer is cheering for the geese.

Please DO NOT get me started about malls.  Did I mention it first?  I'm sorry I did.  Just remember, you read it here first –malls are going out of fashion because people will be buying more by catalogue and computer than schlepping through malls.  Less driving, fewer malls, and MUCH more space for the geese to do whatever they want. 

I’m still hoping there is a chicken in every pot in Washington and suet hanging in every year.   And a word to the wise, stock up on bird see if you can.  We have NO IDEA what winter will be like this year.  Keep it dry and away from rodents—it will last longer.  Hopefully you’ll find a way to keep some water from freezing in your yard for the birds to drink.  Yards that have fresh water which is not frozen in the morning when the birds wake up and start feeding will have more birds than yards with frozen birdbaths. 

Julianne Weinmann, Copyright © 2005 Julianne Weinmann. All rights reserved.  Revised: June 10, 2008 .