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lokittenya · 1 year ago

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Many Have Questioned 'Are Canadian Geese Protected?'

Short answer? Yes, geese are a protected species in Canada. Canada geese are protected under Canada's Migratory Birds Convention Act (MBCA). Canadian geese along with several other migratory birds are on the list of protected species in Canada. Though they are not an endangered species.

Canada Goose

With the scientific name Branta Canadensis, the Canada goose is often referred to as a Canadian geese. The birds have a brown speckled body with a black neck and white cheeks and under chin. And the geese are known for making loud noises.

The Canada geese is a large bird species common in southern prairies of Canada and northern United States of America. And are found here in equally large numbers.

Geese tend to let out a honking like sound. The birds are known to be aggressively protective. And has caused injuries in its quest to protect it's eggs from predators.

Did you know? A single Canada geese can have anywhere between 20,000 to 25,000 feathers. To keep them in top condition they are replaced through a process called moalting.

Canada goose is divided into 7 subspecies:

Atlantic Canada Geese

Interior Canada Geese

Giant Canada Geese

Moffitt's Canada Geese

Vancouver Canada Geese

Dusky Canada Geese

Lesser Canada Geese

Did you know? The giant Canada geese were thought to be extinct untill a small flock was found in Rochester, Minnesota in 1962.

Making differentiation between the different types of goose caused great confusion and conflict. The Lesser Canada Goose was believed to be a hybrid between Canada goose and Cackling goose. Hawaiian goose is also said to share the same ancestry as the Canada goose.

Canada geese range from 30-43 inches in length with a wing span of 50-73 inches. During late-June and through July Canada geese loose their flight feathers to moalting. They average as the largest of the 'true geese', I.e. belonging to Anser and Branta genus.

All seven species of the Canada geese vary in size with the Giant Canada Goose being the largest, weighing at about 8 kg and lesser Canada Goose being the smallest.

Did you know? An exceptionally large giant canada goose was found to weighed 10.9 kg and had a wingspan of 7ft 4in.This was the largest geese to ever be recorded in any present species of geese.

The natural predators of Canada geese are wolves, fox, coyotes, bears, eagles, ravens, gulls and wolverines.

Habitat

Canada geese are native to North America but have since distributed to a number of other places. The Great Lake region houses a large Canada geese population. The Canadageese are also present in large numbers better US eastern seaboard and Pacific coast. As this is part of their breeding ground.

Even in canada they were introduced to certain provinces like Quebec and Southern BC instead of being entirely indigenous like in southern Prairies and southern Ontario.

Canada geese was re introduced in the UK where the species has made itself quite comfortably. And the bird now spreads over half of UK. The Canada geese can be found all year round.

Migration

Canada geese is a migratory bird and move to southern United States and Northern Mexico during the winter period. Their choice of habitat includes wetlands, ponds, lakes, rivers, coastal areas.

The flying geese are easily recognized by their large V-shaped flocks as the birds migrate south in fall/winter and north in the spring.

Although, there are some parts such as Southern BC where the climate is temperate enough that the Canada geese need not migrate. These gives a referred to as resident geese.

Canada geese are usually found feeding on vegetation like grass, roots, leaves, seed, grain but they are also seen to consume insects, mollusks, crustaceans and small fish. As such Canada geese feeding on can be classified as omnivorous.

Did you know? Canada geese can travel over 1000 miles in a day when migrating.

Nesting and Breeding Habits

Canada geese mate for life. The birds start looking for mates between 2-3 years of age. When one of a pair dies the other finds another mate within the same breeding season make their nests and start laying eggs. If the birds destroy nests and eggs (by accident or if something else causes the destruction of the nests and eggs) Canada geese tend nest in the same season again.

Canada geese flocks tend to break up in pairs for the nesting period which usually lasts from mid-March to late-April. While the nesting site can vary it is usually around 150 feet of a water source.

Canada goose usually nests on islands, vegetation around shores, cattails or at the base of big and mature trees. Where they are adequately concealed. In urban areas they tend to nest in flower boxes, doorways or structures with rooftops. Preferring to have their nests on higher grounds with permits them better protection from predators.

The nests and eggs are guarded by both the male and female geese in equal measures. If the adult geese think that they are being threatened they will spread out their wings and hiss before attacking. The female can be found laying eggs around every 36 hours (1.5 days). Once she is done laying eggs the incubation period starts., which is about 28 days.

The female Canada geese can lay upto 2-12 eggs, the but the average clutch size is about 5 eggs. All the eggs hatchat the same time and are led away by the adults within 24 hours of hatching. And the young geese are protected by the adult goose.

Did you know? Goselings (goose ckicks) can learn to swim in a day. They sometimes form groups with other goselings. These groups are known as gang broods.

Canada goose population is quite large now. But in the early 1900s their numbers plummeted due to habitat loss and hunting. With the conservation efforts and regulationsput in place, the Canada goose population has reached up to 5 million in northern states alone. The global canada geese population is estimated to be over 7.1 million.

Why Hunt Canada Geese?

People used to hunt Canada geese for sport. They are considered to be highly intelligent and hence, equally challenging. They are also considered a delicacy. Some have even compared a geese breast to a good cut of beef.

As such Canada geese populations are hunted for their feathers and meat.

Thought there are others who find the birds to be tasteless. The unregulated hunting caused a steep decline in the Canada goose population. Thought they have since recovered a great deal.

Did you know? A Canada geese killed under a permit can be eaten but cannot be donated to another person.

Problems Caused by Canada Geese

Canada geese cam also cause a lot of problems. Their presence at the airports is a safety hazard. As they may impend take off and hinder in landings. As such, the airport staff performs regular checks to reduce aircraft related risks.

Nesting Canada geese defend their nests fiercely and an overly aggressive pair may cause injuries to pets and children.

Large flocks of Canada geese strip the areas of grass such as parks, pastures, golf courses, lawns and areas near ponds, lakes and other water bodies which leads to expensive landscape management for the owners of private property.

Many landowners have faced such problems and tried to employ various deterrent techniques to avoid the geese.

Excessive Canada goose droppings can be a valid concern in populated areas such as parks and golf courses well well people are present as well.

This has let to making the parks and often beaches unfit for use. Some parks even have boards that prohibit the feeding of geese.

While study has been conducted to determine the potential harm that goose droppings pose to human health there has not been any direct evidence to performed serious risk management.

The Canada geese diet can also lead to agriculture and resource damage as they consume grains and grass which causes harm to crops and pastures and may cause a degradation in the water quality as well.

The rapid increase in Canada geese population can also affect the already sensitive ecosystems and they may cause harm to other wildlife in their aggression. In recent decades the Canada geese have overcame the population objectives. Which has made it necessary to kill Canada geese to control the populations of geese.

Migratory Birds Convention Act

Are Canada geese protected under any act or can they be hunted? Is a common question people have. Often misunderstanding the birds to be an endangered species. Canada geese are protected but can be hunted mostly to control the now rapidly growing goose populations.

The Migratory Birds Convention Act emerged from International treaty between Canada and the United States. The treaty is known as the Migratory Birds Convention, signed in 1916. The Migratory Birds Convention provides protection and conserves the migratory birds populations and prohibits or permits the hunting of said birds under specified circumstances.

On the other hand, the act also acknowledges the damage caused by goose and provides the means necessary to deal with the problem. In such circumstances you can kill Canada geese but only as a last resort.

There are several migratory bird, along with the Canada geese that are considered to be 'game birds' and are eligible to be hunted but only during certain specified time and in specified areas.

The Act tasks the Federal government with establishing the hunting seasons. And Canada geese are a popular game bird among the migratory game bird hunters.

Hunting season has become a way to control the rapidly increasing Canada geese population. In Ohio, the Canada geese hunting season begins in November and lasts up to 2 months. In southern Ontario, the Canada geese season is from September 1 to December 16.

Due to the local laws it is illegal to hunt outside of the designated areas.

Permits

Canadian Wildlife Health cooperative has set the regulations for hunting seasons of Canada geese. The federal government allows for the hunting under specified conditions.

If someone were to hunt canada geese outside of the area where it may cause damage to private property or other wildlife one can contact the wildlife service with the information contact provides on the official wildlife service websites.

Though hunting during the hunting season or in hunting zones is not prohibited under the act. Goose are after all a popular game and not an endangered species.

To hunt Canada geese one must possess a single permit: a valid Migratory Game Bird Hunting Permit and a Canadian Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stamp on the permit. Though most provinces and territories have some other regulations and permits as well that provide protection to the wildlife.

Airport permits are also a thing under the Migratory Birds Convention Act to reduce aircraft related risks. The hunting permits allows one to hunt Canada geese under the Migratory birds act.

Hunting Districts

Different province have different amount of hunting Zones for the goose season.

Ontario permits a total of 4 geese hunting districts named Hudson-James Bay District, Northern District, Central District, Southern District.

Quebec has a total of 7 geese hunting districts named District A, District B, District C, District D, District E, District F and District G.

Alberta permits 2 geese hunting district names Zone No.1 and Zone No.2.

North Dakota has 3 geese hunting zones: Eastern zone, Western zone and the Missouri River zone.

British Columbia permits a total of 8 geese hunting zones that numbered as Provincial Management Units 1 through 8.

And so one and so forth.

To Conclude

Canadian geese are protected by the wildlife services which aims to protect all the migratory birds.

The geese populations have grown at an exponential rate. This growth is often attributed to the human landscaping practices which seem to favour the geese.

The birds nest, moalt and raised their young often heavily populated areas. The increasing rate of such disruption has caused a conflict between the people and the geese.

The Migratory Birds Convention Act recognises the damage wrought on by the birds and provides measures to to manage the problem. They provide tools such as permits that allows one to take necessary actions such as hunting the geese themselves.

The United States have declared the resident geese as 'overabundant'. The status of geese in Canada is not threatened. Hunting permits can be provided to people who wish to reduce the damages done by the large geese flocks.

All in all Canada geese are protected but also can be hunted with a valid permit.

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