Honk If You Believe in Protecting Our Youth

Canadian Geese, with are protected in the US under the Migratory Aquatic Wildlife Law, or some crazy legislation, are not migratory. Most stay in the US, so they have the visa thing figured out. They tend to return to raise young where they were raised, such as on our property, and they mate for life. We have scores of geese here every year, and average 6-20 goslings. This year we have 12. The geese are nasty in protecting the kids (in fact, unlike all other Canadians, they are nasty pretty much all of the time and will even try to run after my cars), and one was killed one year when it stupidly tried to take on Koufax. But they do routinely fight off predators like raccoons and foxes.

In any case, at this time of year, all the parents gather all the kids down at our bridge about 100s yards away, and teach them to fly by first “walking on the water” and then lifting off, landing near our pool on the other end of the pond. This happens for less than a week and the young are soon flying. Then they leave to start their own independent lives, having been raised in safe conditions, with ample food and protection.

As nasty as they are, these geese are great parents. They mate for life, raise, educate, and protect their kids, and teach them how to survive in a competitive world.

Kind of frightening.