When do canada geese lay their eggs

Males begin mating at three years of age, and females begin mating when they are three or four years old. Breeding season for Canada geese is between February and April, depending on the climate.

Geese mate once a year. Canada geese have elaborate courtship behaviors. The female chooses a mate based on his displays and how well she believes he can protect her. Canada geese are monogamous and mate for life. Note: Lasers should never be aimed in the direction of people, roads, or aircraft. At the time of writing, the cost of a laser device is still quite high. Check with dealers through the Internet and over the counter at bird-control businesses for current prices and instructions for use.

Dogs When directed by a handler, dogs are the method of choice for large open areas such as golf courses, airports, parks, agricultural fields, and corporate parks. In residential areas, parks with continuous public use, areas bisected by roadways, and large water bodies, dog use may not be appropriate. Results are often immediate. After an aggressive initial use several times a day for one or two weeks , geese get tired of being harassed and will use adjacent areas instead.

A dog can be tethered to a long lead which may require relocating the dog and tether frequently to cover more area , be allowed to chase and retrieve a decoy thrown over a large flock of geese, or be periodically released to chase the birds if this is not against leash laws. While the wolflike gaze of border collies is frightening to geese, these dogs rarely harm them. Other breeds of dogs can also do the job. It is recommended that they be from proven working stock, preferably with prior experience with or exposure to live animals, particularly birds.

Chemical Repellents Taste-aversion products and other chemical repellents are unobtrusive, may be applied directly to the problem area, and will not permanently harm the geese. Drawbacks to repellents include the high costs of covering large areas, the need for frequent application in rainy areas and during the growing season, odors associated with the few registered products, and their negative influence on the behavior of other wildlife.

If geese have used the area in the past, apply repellent before their return. Carefully read and follow all label and technical directions. If the above nonlethal control efforts are unsuccessful and the damage situation persists, lethal control may be an option. Lethal control techniques include legal hunting, shooting out of season by permit, egg destruction by permit, and euthanasia of adults by government officials.

Figure 3. The V-shaped flight formation allows each trailing bird to receive lift from the wingtip vortex of the bird in front of it, saving energy and greatly extending the range of a flock of birds over that of a bird flying alone.

Figure 4. Some common displays of Canada geese. Figure 7. Evolutionarily, Canada geese are tundra nesters that prefer to congregate on low vegetation adjacent to open water.

Photo by Sunny Walter. Canada geese are not considered to be a significant source of any infectious disease transmittable to humans or domestic animals, although their droppings are increasingly cited as a cause for concern in controlling water quality in municipal lakes and ponds. Swimmers itch schistosome or cercarial dermatitis is caused by a parasite that can be spread by goose droppings, but does not mature or reproduce in humans. Recommendations to reduce the risk of swimmers itch are to: 1 vigorously towel off immediately upon exiting the water including under bathing suits , and 2 take a soapy shower immediately after exiting the water.

If you do get the itch, a topical rash cream should alleviate some of the itching, and the rash should clear up within a week. If you have concerns or questions, contact a physician. Canada geese are protected under federal and state law and a hunting license and open season are required to hunt them. Where lethal control of Canada geese is necessary outside of hunting seasons, it should be carried out only after the above nonlethal control techniques have proven unsuccessful and only under permits issued by the U.

Fish and Wildlife Service. Currently, the only agency permitted for lethal removal is the U. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Living with Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest. Canada Geese. Facts About Washington State Canada Geese Food and Feeding Habits Canada geese graze while walking on land, and feed on submerged aquatic vegetation by reaching under the water with their long necks.

Wild food plants include pondweed, bulrush, sedge, cattail, horsetail, clover, and grass; agricultural crops include alfalfa, corn, millet, rye, barley, oats, and wheat. Geese also eat some insects, snails, and tadpoles, probably incidentally. Nests and Nest Sites Canada geese nest in areas that are surrounded by or close to water Fig. Nest sites vary widely and include the shores of cattail and bulrush marshes, the bases of trees, the tops of muskrat lodges and haystacks, and unoccupied nests of eagles, herons, and ospreys.

Nests have produced successful broods of geese and ospreys in the same year. Other nest sites include planter boxes and nesting structures provided specifically for geese. A pair of geese may return to the same nest site in consecutive years. Reproduction Canada geese usually begin nesting at three years of age. Adult pairs usually stay together for life unless one dies. Lone geese will find another mate, generally within the same breeding season.

Between one and ten, but normally five to six eggs are laid in the nest in March, April, or May. Eggs are incubated by the goose female while the gander male stands guard nearby. The female leaves the nest only briefly each day to feed. Eggs hatch after 25 to 30 days of incubation. The young, called goslings, can walk, swim, and feed within 24 hours. Both parents especially the gander vigorously defend the goslings until they are able to fly, which is at about ten weeks.

The young geese remain with their family group for about one year. If the nest or eggs are destroyed, geese often re-nest in or near the first nest. Canada geese can raise one clutch per year.

Longevity and Mortality Predators of Canada geese and their eggs include humans, coyotes, raccoons, skunks, bobcats, and foxes, as well as gulls, eagles, crows, ravens, and magpies. Canada geese hatched in urban environments may have very low first-year mortalities due to the abundance of food and relative scarcity of natural predators.

Canada geese can live more than 20 years in captivity; in the wild they have a much shorter life span. Viewing Canada Geese Geese are among the few water birds that will tolerate the environmental conditions found in urban areas. Displays Visit nearly any body of water in a nearby park especially during the breeding period and you will likely observe several obvious visual displays within a large active flock Fig.

Nest Sites Early in the breeding season, watch for a pair of geese quietly exploring an area. Molting Like most waterfowl, adult Canada geese go through a complete molt every year. Preventing Conflicts Canada geese are extremely adaptable. To prevent conflicts or remedy existing problems: Stop feeding geese: When the diets of geese are no longer supplemented with handouts and they have to depend on the natural food supply, some or all the geese will move elsewhere.

The female will incubate these eggs for roughly days at which time the young geese will hatch. The young birds will remain hidden under the female until all the young are dry which can take up to 24 hours.

At this time both the female and the male will escort the young birds to the water. The whole family will never return to the nest, although the adults may reuse the nest in subsequent years. Unlike many other bird species, young Canada Geese are hatched able to forage on their own, so they do not rely on their parents to feed them. They do depend on them for protection from cold and rainy weather and predators.

The young grow quickly and at the age of weeks are able to fly. Typically Canada Geese do not begin breeding until their 3rd or 4th year of life. So for the next few years they will wander in juvenile flocks. Once the parents begin breeding again, the yearlings presence will no longer be tolerated and they will be forced to move on. During the fall, migrating Canada Geese from across Saskatchewan and even more northern areas will stop at Wascana Centre.

As many as 10, birds will use Wascana as a resting stop. During the morning and evening, the birds will fly out to surrounding agricultural land and feed on leftover grain. During the middle of the day as well as the night, they will stay around Wascana Lake for protection. Once the ice freezers over, usually in November, most of the geese will depart for warmer climates.

If a small area of water is kept open from aerators in the lake , a few dozen birds may overwinter here. Once they decide to move, the majority of geese that breed in Wascana Centre spend their short winter December to March in South Dakota and Nebraska.

When another goose family ventures too close, both the parents and young assume threatening postures and make a lot of noise. Numbers and not the size or weight of the adults seems to be decisive—large families almost always defeat small families, which in turn defeat pairs without young. Most encounters are settled without physical contact, and prolonged fights are rare. From six to nine weeks after hatching, depending on the race, the birds are ready to take to the air as a family unit.

By this time, only about half of the goslings that hatched still survive. In the north, Canada Geese feed on berries and put on a layer of fat before their southward migration. Prior to migration, the families come together into groups of a few to several dozen families, often in coastal areas. The last of the Canada Geese linger along northern shores until early October.

Then suddenly in a few days they are gone. Several animals prey upon the eggs and young of Canada Geese. In the far north, the principal predator is the arctic fox, which may remove all of the eggs from several nests and hide them to eat when there is little food. Other predators include large gulls, jaegers, ravens, and sometimes bears.

The first line of defence is for the male to draw attention to himself in an attempt to lure the predator away from the nest or goslings. If this fails, the smaller races of Canada Geese, which are agile fliers, are often able to drive off gulls and jaegers.

The larger races use their size and aggressive behaviour to dissuade most predators, including foxes, from approaching too close. They open their wings widely to make themselves seem as big as possible, and they hiss loudly. They are also capable of delivering a hard blow with their wings, so foxes must watch their step.

The struggles are not all one-sided, however, and occasionally a skilful fox can kill an adult goose. Red foxes, coyotes, wolves, and bald eagles may also kill adult Canada Geese either on the nesting grounds or at staging or wintering areas. Nevertheless, once a goose survives its first year, the experience it has gained makes it much less vulnerable to predators, and most individuals live for 10 or more years to a maximum of about In a world where many species are threatened by human activities, Canada Geese are a welcome exception.

Although the distinctive identities, and even the existence, of some small populations are far from assured, all Canadian populations are stable or increasing.

The species as a whole has flourished in the last 50 years. In there were perhaps 1 million Canada Geese in North America; today, before hunting begins in September, there are probably more than 8 million. Canada Geese owe their success partly to management programs, including the creation of refuges and careful regulation of hunting.

They have probably benefited even more, however, from modern agricultural techniques, with large fields, heavy fertilizer use, the introduction of hardy and high-yielding strains of grass, corn, and cereals, and the spillage associated with mechanical harvesting. One race, the Giant Canada Goose, used to breed in southern Canada and the northern United States but disappeared from most of its range by the late s.

Early settlers may have gathered Giant Canada Goose eggs and rounded up and slaughtered many of the geese during the flightless moulting period. Beginning in the early s, Canada Geese from captive breeding flocks were reintroduced into the southern parts of their former range. This practice continued through much of the 20th century, and Canada Geese were eventually restored in Pennsylvania, New York, Ontario, and west to southern Alberta.

During this period, geese were also introduced to areas where they may not have bred before. These reintroduced populations have since exploded, and Canada Geese have become a nuisance in many areas. The birds thrive under the close protection and feeding opportunities they find in parks, near suburban wetlands, and on lawns or golf courses. Because no hunting takes place in these areas, there are few natural factors working to limit population growth and disperse the birds.

Populations of urban Canada Geese are still growing, and the range of these birds is still expanding. Problems associated with geese include droppings on lawns and beaches, which may contaminate drinking water sources, aggressive behaviour toward humans, and collisions with aircraft.

Wildlife managers are increasingly being asked to balance the careful conservation of some types of Canada Geese with programs designed to limit or reduce populations coming into conflict with agriculture or other human activities. To deal with problem geese, the Canadian Wildlife Service has liberalized hunting regulations as much as possible.

It has also allowed other management options under permit. The story of the Canada Goose in the last hundred years highlights the successes and dilemmas of North American waterfowl management.

Although challenges lie ahead, the Canada Goose is one of the great success stories of wildlife management today. Canada Goose, Ducks Unlimited Canada. Audubon Field Guide, Canada Goose. Print resources Bellrose, F. Ducks, geese and swans of North America.

Revised edition. Stackpole, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Dickson, K. Towards conservation of the diversity of Canada Geese Branta canadensis. Occasional Paper No. Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa. Godfrey, W. The birds of Canada. National Museums of Canada, Ottawa. Hanson, H. The Giant Canada Goose. Mowbray, T. Ely, J. Sedinger, and R. Canada Goose Branta canadensis. In The birds of North America, no. Poole and F.

Gill, editors. The birds of North America, Inc. Ogilvie, M. Wild geese. Buteo Books, Vermillion, North Dakota. Owen, M. Wild geese of the world: Their life history and ecology.

Batsford, London. All rights reserved. Hanson Revision: R. The Northern Leopard Frog Lithobates pipiens is named for its leopard-like spots across its back and sides. Historically, these frogs were harvested for food frog legs and are still used today for dissection practice in biology class. Northern Leopard Frogs are about the size of a plum, ranging from 7 to 12 centimetres. They have a variety of unique colour morphs, or genetic colour variations.

They can be different shades of green and brown with rounded black spots across its back and legs and can even appear with no spots at all known as a burnsi morph.

They have white bellies and two light coloured dorsal back ridges. Another pale line travels underneath the nostril, eye and tympanum, ending at the shoulder. The tympanum is an external hearing structure just behind and below the eye that looks like a small disk.

Black pupils and golden irises make up their eyes. They are often confused with Pickerel Frogs Lithobates palustris ; whose spots are more squared then rounded and have a yellowish underbelly. Male frogs are typically smaller than the females. Their average life span is two to four years in the wild, but up to nine years in captivity. Tadpoles are dark brown with tan tails. Lampreys are an amazing group of ancient fish species which first appeared around million years ago.

This means they evolved millions of years before the dinosaurs roamed the earth. There are about 39 species of lamprey currently described plus some additional landlocked populations and varieties. In general, lamprey are one of three different life history types and are a combination of non-parasitic and parasitic species. Non-parasitic lamprey feed on organic material and detritus in the water column. Parasitic lamprey attach to other fish species to feed on their blood and tissues.

Most, 22 of the 39 species, are non-parasitic and spend their entire lives in freshwater. The remainder are either parasitic spending their whole life in freshwater or, parasitic and anadromous.

Anadromous parasitic lampreys grow in freshwater before migrating to the sea where they feed parasitically and then migrate back to freshwater to spawn. The Cowichan Lake lamprey Entosphenus macrostomus is a freshwater parasitic lamprey species. It has a worm or eel-like shape with two distinct dorsal fins and a small tail.

It is a slender fish reaching a maximum length of about mm. When they are getting ready to spawn they shrink in length and their dorsal fins overlap. Unlike many other fish species, when lampreys are getting ready to spawn you can tell the difference between males and females. Females develop fleshy folds on either side of their cloaca and an upturned tail.

The males have a downturned tail and no fleshy folds. These seven gill pores are located one after another behind the eye. There are several characteristics which are normally used to identify lamprey. Many of these are based on morphometrics or measurements, of or between various body parts like width of the eye or, distance between the eye and the snout. Other identifying characteristics include body colour and the number and type of teeth.