Understanding
Geese
By T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors
Shortly after
I began guiding goose hunts I met Dr. Jim Cooper, one of the
most highly respected waterfowl researchers in the world. When I
met him he was an Associate Professor of Wildlife with the
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at the University of
Minnesota, and he had been studying Canada Geese for over
twenty-five years. The first time we met I told him I wanted to
pick his brain about the calling, feeding habits, reaction to
weather, habitat, family behavior, flock makeup and migration
patterns of geese. After talking to Jim, and reading the results
of his studies, it became apparent to me how important the
family behavior of the flock is in understanding geese. Once I
began to understand what the role of the family is in the flock,
it changed the way I hunt geese.
Goose Social Structure
Geese
traditionally mate for life. In the winter, geese congregate in
large flocks consisting of several groups or subflocks. When the
geese migrate north in the spring the subflocks, consisting of
several families, stay together and the young return to the same
body of water where they learned to fly. If there is available
habitat young female geese will nest in the same area where they
were raised. The result of this is that the flock in that area
is related through the female side of the family. They stay
together throughout the year and recognize each other by sight
and sound. In the fall groups of families from nearby areas
often band together to form the subflocks. If there are several
subflocks together at one site, the individual subflocks remain
apart from each other. Although subflocks may be made up of
hundreds of geese, the families within the subflocks remain
together, and the individuals within each family remain in close
contact with each other. On the ground each family of from two
to twelve or more birds requires its own space, apart from the
other families. In the air the geese fly in family groups.
Food Preferences
Geese are
primarily grazers. They eat succulent greens likes sedges,
grasses and forbes (wild flowers) when they are available. Even
when there is abundant corn I have seen geese eating grass on
city parks and golf courses while most of the ground was covered
with snow. If you can find a green field of grass, alfalfa or
clover it is one of the best places to decoy geese. Geese also
eat the leaves and seeds of small grains like oats, barley and
wheat. They will also eat the new green sprouts of sugar beets,
and leftover sugar beets. In the fall Canada geese seem to
prefer oat and barley fields over wheat fields. After forbes,
sedges, grasses and small grains have lost their chlorophyll in
the fall geese will also eat larger grains like corn and
soybeans.
Feeding Habits and Resting
Periods
Geese
generally fly out to feed twice a day, once within an hour of
daylight, and again within an hour of sunset. When they are don
feeding geese may fly back to their nighttime roost to rest
during they day, or they may rest on other lakes, ponds and
sloughs. During the day geese often loaf or sleep on the water
or nearby land. In urban areas geese will often spend the midday
hours at city parks, golf courses, and lakes and ponds with
homes around them.
Reaction to Weather;
Barometer, Wind Speed, Precipitation, Temperature
Weather
affects geese in a number of different ways. Noted waterfowl
biologist Dr. Jim Cooper says that because geese have numerous
air sacks in their body they have the ability to detect subtle
barometric pressure changes. Because of their ability to feel
barometric pressure changes geese often feed heavily before or
during the first few hours of a storm, and again after a storm
lets up. When severe fall storms approach late in the fall geese
often stop feeding and begin to flock-up as much as two days
before the storm, and if the storm is severe enough, and the
food sources are depleted, they may migrate. Heavy precipitation
and strong winds make it difficult for geese to fly, therefore,
unless they are migrating, they may not fly as much or as far as
they normally would. When there is precipitation with high winds
geese often fly lower than normal. In heavy rain or snow geese
may fly out only once late in the morning, or they may not fly
at all.
When
temperature or wind-chill is above 20 to 25 degrees geese
normally fly out to feed within a half-hour of sunrise, and
again within an hour of sunset. When the temperature or
wind-chill is below 20 degrees Canada geese often fly out later
in the morning than normal; or they may not fly out to feed in
the morning, but wait until late afternoon to feed. When the
temperature or wind-chill is below 20 degrees geese often spend
a lot of time resting or sleeping to preserve their energy. When
the temperature or wind-chill is below 10 to 15 degrees giant
Canada geese often remain on the roost all day, or they may take
short flights before returning to the roost. According to Dr.
Jim Cooper, if geese fly in extremely cold weather they may
actually lose more calories than they gain in feeding. His
studies show that giant Canadas can go 30 days without feeding
or leaving the roost.
Reaction to Visibility; Light,
Fog, Rain, Snow
Because geese
rely on their sight to detect danger they don’t like to feed or
rest on land in low light conditions. They usually wait to feed
until there is sufficient light for them to feel secure.
However, geese will often feed long into the night when there is
a full moon and no clouds. As a result of this they may not fly
out to feed in the morning during the full moon. Clouds, rain,
snow or fog generally cause geese to fly out later in the
morning than normal because of reduced visibility. New snow or
fog disorients geese and they may fail to recognize refuge lines
and feeding fields, which makes them wary of anything that
doesn’t look right. When they are going out to feed they often
follow other flying flocks, and look for fields that have flocks
already feeding in them before they land.
Migration
The larger
subspecies of Canada geese nest primarily below the 60th
parallel, with western subspecies nesting as far south as
northern California and Utah. The smaller subspecies nest above
the 60th parallel; these geese begin to migrate
toward their wintering areas in the fall when cold weather,
strong winds and snow signal the onset of winter. They may
migrate only as far as they have to in order to find open water,
available food, and temperature suitable to their body size.
Because of their large body size giant Canadas can withstand
colder temperatures than their smaller relatives; they may not
migrate any farther south than the northern tier of the United
States.
If you are
interested in more goose hunting tips, or more goose biology and
behavior, click on Trinity Mountain Outdoor News and
T.R.'s Hunting Tips at www.TRMichels.com. If you have
questions about geese log on to the T.R.'s Tips message
board.
This article
is an excerpt from the Dusk & Goose Addict's Manual ($14.95 +
$5.00 S&H), by T.R. Michels, available in the Trinity
Mountain Outdoor Products catalog.
T.R.
Michels is a nationally recognized game researcher/wildlife
behaviorist, outdoor writer and speaker. He is the author of the
Whitetail, Elk, Duck & Goose, and Turkey Addict's
Manuals. His latest products are the 2003 Revised Edition of
the Whitetail Addict's Manual, the 2003 Revised Edition
of the Elk Addict's Manual; and the 2003 Revised Edition
of the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual. For a catalog of
books and other hunting products contact: T.R. Michels, Trinity
Mountain Outdoors, PO Box 284, Wanamingo, MN 55983, USA. Phone:
507-824-3296, E-mail:
TRMichels@yahoo.com, Web Site:
www.TRMichels.com
