The Canada Goose

I cannot imagine a bird more obviously suited to be this country’s national bird than the Canada goose (Branta canadensis). They nest from St. John's to Victoria, from Point Pelee to Baffin Island. They are as much at home nesting in a planter on the balcony of a Vancouver apartment, as they are near a pond in a southern Ontario cornfield, or even on the tundra somewhere in Nunavut.

Canadians and Canada geese (Canadas for short ) have a lot in common. Canadas are big and tough, but they are not bullies and are happy to live and let live – although they can be ferocious in defence of their nests and, especially, their goslings as many a fox, dog, and raccoon has learned the hard way. Canadas are said to mate for life, but "divorces" are not uncommon, and a Canada that has lost its mate will usually find a new one.

They are excellent parents and incubate their four to seven eggs nearly continuously, in fair weather or foul, for about 28 days. The families stay together through the fall and winter as the parents teach their offspring where to feed and show them safe places to stop during migration. It's not uncommon for female offspring to nest close to their mothers.

Canadas love to be near the water and are just as happy if it's a mountain stream, a prairie pothole, a tundra pool, a large boreal lake, the shore of a Great Lake, or an urban pond. And they just love the "smorgasbord" of foods that farmers leave behind after fall harvests, whether it is prairie grain, Ontario corn, or P.E.I. potatoes.

And talk about diversity! Biologists have described about 10 sub-species, or "races" of Canada geese. And no other type of Canadian bird shows as much variation in size as Canada Geese do – those breeding in the arctic weigh three to six pounds, those nesting across the boreal forests are seven to nine pounds, and those that breed in the prairies, southern Ontario, and Quebec are usually 10 to 12 pounds, with some weighing as much as 15. And like their human counterparts, some stay in Canada for the winter while others migrate to the southern U.S.

Sure, Canada Geese aren't perfect. They are just as happy to be grazing on the grass in parks and golf courses as they are on prairie marsh plants or tundra grasses, and the "calling cards" that they leave behind can be a nuisance. But they more than make up for it with all the pleasure they give us when we first hear their familiar "honking" call in the spring, when we marvel at a flock flying overhead in their characteristic "V" formation, or when we see a group of them standing on the ice toughing out a blizzard. They also provide millions of pounds of delicious meat every fall to hunters and their families – they are the origin of the "Christmas Goose."