Two days ago, after a spring snowstorm, I treated myself to a few minutes of local bird photography, which included this ticked-off Canada Goose gander.
One ticked off Canada Goose gander – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/3200, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I had a few minutes of sunlight because a suckerhole in the clouds was allowing some light to reach my local pond. The fresh snow on the ground was already melting by the time I got to where the geese were. Earlier in the morning, the snowstorm looked like a full-on blizzard, and the bare ground was covered within minutes.
Was the Canada Goose ticked off because of the snow?
Nope. It wasn’t the snow that got its feathers ruffled. This time of the year, the male Canada Geese are guarding their mates. This male was behaving aggressively towards another pair of geese that were approaching from the east. The gander was letting everyone and everything nearby know to stay well away from his mate.
His mate seemingly paid no attention to his behavior or to the approaching geese. She simply continued to forage for her lunch.
This is the time of year when I advise people with small children and little dogs to stay away from Canada Geese because the males can be aggressive while guarding their mates. Later in the breeding season, I would offer the same advice since both sexes can be aggressive when it comes to guarding their young. It is best to view the geese and their young from a distance.
Even though we are still getting some snow in the Salt Lake Valley, it won’t be long before these geese are nesting and incubating their eggs. I can hardly wait to see the goslings wandering around, and for this winter’s snowstorms to be a thing of the past.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Canada Geese photos plus facts and information about this species.
I innocently walked along a boardwalk in Illinois and did not see them at the nest. The drake came right at me and I could have fallen off the boardwalk as I quickly retreated.
A Canada Goose stopped traffic in Huntington Beach yesterday by taking its very sweet time crossing one of the larger streets. Definitely strutting it’s stuff while 3 lanes of cars just sat. It was jaywalking too. Fortunately, I was going the other way and got to witness not wait.
Ideally people would stay well away from them (and other wildlife) all year round…