Wildlife Watching Wednesday: Cute Canada Goose Goslings

By: Tom Berg

Surely everyone is familiar with the Canada goose. These large, noisy waterfowl seem to be everywhere these days, from lake and river settings to residential front yards. Canada geese have a distinctive brown, white and black coloration, and they have a long neck and a wide black bill. They usually lay between 2-8 eggs in the springtime, and when the eggs hatch the babies (called goslings) quickly become very active.

Canada goose goslings are covered in yellow down-like feathers when they hatch, and unlike some birds they usually leave the nest when they are only a day or two old. Even though they are very small, they are perfectly capable of walking and swimming as soon as they leave the nest. They always seems to be hungry, and they almost immediately begin looking for food on the ground or in the water.

Grasses and tender leaves of new plants are some of the first foods they eat, but the young goslings will also eat seeds, berries and insects if they can find them. Shoreline sedges and aquatic insects are some of their favored foods, although the grasses growing in urban yards are fair game, too. Watching a tiny gosling chase an insect through the grass can be quite amusing.

The young goslings spend a lot of time napping on shore while their parents keep watch over them, but when they are awake they can be comical to watch. They are small little bundles of energy, and their cute faces are very photogenic for anyone with a camera. Their yellow down feathers contrast beautifully with their coal-black eyes and their adorable little black bills.

Goslings stay with their parents for a full year, but other goslings may join their family group if they become lost or lose their own parents to predators. Canada goose parents are notoriously good at watching and protecting their young, including any adopted youngsters that are in their care. Goslings grow fast, and they can fly by the time they are 10 or 11 weeks old.

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