The Canada Goose is among the largest species of geese and is easily distinguishable by their black head, long black neck and the broad white cheek patches. The body is gray to brown with white underneath and the tail and rump are black. Male birds weigh up to 16 pounds, have a body length of 18-25 inches and a wing span of 52-60 inches. The females are slightly smaller with identical markings. Both sexes reach breeding maturity in two years. These birds have excellent eyesight and have been observed locating groups of geese too high for humans to see without binoculars, calling to them and shortly thereafter have the other flock join them in the feeding area.

People can't resist looking up and watching the V-formation of the large Geese passing high overhead in a southerly direction. This is their annual migration from the northern regions to the warmer climate of Mexico and the Gulf Coast areas of the United States. Not all Canada Geese migrate, in some areas the geese have adapted to winter and stay all year round. In recent years many stayed in the Midwestern states of the US. Running water may sometimes be hard to find and their food is covered with snow but the geese are used to the generosity of humans and are now permanent residents. The flocks that do migrate are generally made up of family groups and can range to flocks of several hundred. They fly both day and night, feeding where they can on vegetation and grain residue in fields They rest in staging areas where they may stay for several days before resuming their flight. The young birds, hatched in the current year, learn from adults the migration routes, resting areas and seasonal homes during their complete migration cycle. Once in the south, the geese inhabit coastal lakes and marshes, feeding on grass sprouts, marine vegetation and grains in nearby marshes and fields. In the early spring, as by a, not yet explained signal, the Canada Goose begins its long and difficult flight north. Occasionally the geese get a little ahead of spring and find little open water and a meager food supply and a late snow storm can take quite a toll on the exhausted birds. As the flocks arrive at their northern ancestral breeding areas, the birds divide into pairs, each pair with its own small mating territory. Canada Geese are one of the few bird species that are monogamous, having a single life-long mate. Should one of the pair die, the remaining goose, will generally remain alone. Some may take another mate, but most of the others, very seldom do.

The eggs, four to eight large white eggs are laid in a nest, build from sticks and lined with vegetation and an inner lining of down that the birds pluck from their own breasts. The nest is always near water. Canada Geese have been known to use abandoned hawks nests in trees, artificial platforms or even ledges on cliffs to nest. Incubation is done by the female with the male standing guard. The female does leave the nest occasionally to feed but never goes far and never for very long. The geese are very defensive of their nests and are fear provoking with their warning hiss , swinging of their heads on their necks and flapping of their wings. A male goose will even take on dogs and humans in defense of its mate and his nesting territory.

After a 24-33 days incubation period the goslings make their appearance. They are covered with down, their eyes are open and they are able to move about as soon as they are dry. When the last gosling has hatched and dried off, the adults lead the downy, yellow babies to the water and never return to the nest. The goslings feed almost immediately with just a little help from their parents. Mother and Father using their beaks, stir up vegetation from the bottom of a lake or pond and the little ones quickly pick it up before it sinks. A common sight along lake shores and river banks in the summer, are the families of geese grazing. One goose always stands guard while the others are feeding. Unexplained as to how they know, another goose will take over guard duty when the first one bends its head to feed. By late summer the young geese are replicas of the adults. In August, the adults molt and will loose their flight feathers all at once, rendering them flightless for a few weeks until the new feathers grow. After the molt, the adults and young form the family flocks which will migrate south, beginning in September.

The next time you see those beautiful Canada Geese winging their way south, wish them a "good trip" and know, that you will see them again in the spring, on their centuries-old journey back to the north to their ancestral breeding grounds and so the circle closes.