Canadian Goose

Branta canadensis, better known as the Canadian goose, can be found throughout North America and Greenland due to its extensive migratory routes.  Some Canadian geese have been found to travel more than 1,000 kilometers in one day!  These geese are well known for being rather loud, but few people know that they have as many as thirteen different calls to indicate different emotions; goslings even begin to communicate with their parents while they are still in their eggs.

You can hear the geese in this video making several different sounds.  There are also some young birds that haven’t lost all of their downy gray feathers yet.

If you’ve visited the W. K. Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, then you (and your shoes) are well aware that Canadian geese eat (and as a result, poop) a lot.  This gives them the energy that they need to fly, especially during the seasons when they are migrating and laying eggs.  They spend up to twelve hours a day eating grass, leaves, roots, and various crops that are available to them.

"Honk!"

Canadian geese form mating pairs that stay together and raise their offspring.  The male helps the female protect the nest by luring potential predators away, but if one of the parents does die, the other will eventually choose a new partner.  The goslings are fed and cared for until they are about one year old.  Geese depend on watery habitats for food and rearing their young, so wetland devastation has had quite a negative impact on the health of their populations.

This is probably the cutest goose I have ever seen.

References: http://www.ducks.ca/resource/general/wetland/geese.html