Birds All March on the Battlefield 3

I've Never Been to Canada, but I Got Goosed Anyway

Two Canada Geese, descending on
a small pond.

So, I was in the GNMP the other day, trying to get shots of birds for this series, and I heard the clear call of the Canada Goose. It was a cool morning, relatively overcast, and a lite fog dappled the Battlefield.

As I aimed my camera toward the sound, I caught glimpse of two of these large birds coming my way and getting ready to land on a pond.

Large Canada Goose;
wingspan between 50-68"

There are two different sizes of the Canada Goose; a smaller race (22-36 inches) and the larger race (35-45 inches). The birds I was encountering were the larger of the two.

The white cheeks distinguish
the larger race.

One of the differing factors between the races is the white patches on the cheeks. Another difference is the sound they make; the larger, a clear honking noise, while the smaller makes a cackling sound. As I was attempting to photograph the two geese on the water, they slowly moved further and further away, which made it more and more difficult to get decent images of them.

I started heading back to my car and kept hearing more honking coming from an area just beyond where I parked. The sound was extremely loud and quite exaggerated. As I approached the field, on the other side of the road, I noticed three Canada Geese in a relatively close proximity to each other. I wasn’t too sure if I was going to get any worthwhile images, given the conditions of the day and the fact that the geese themselves are less than vibrant/colorful.
Regardless, I decided to take aim at the geese and snap off a few frames. As I did, one of the geese began chasing another, and soon enough they engaged in a bit of a battle. I had seen this on a much smaller scale, with other birds, like Robins, which appeared to be more like play.

However, the encounter before me appeared to be much more than that. Remember, these birds are anywhere between 35 and 45 inches; that’s almost 4 feet; that’s crazy! It was quite an impressive altercation, with loud honking, hissing, thrusting beaks and legs, and the powerful flapping of the wings (the wingspan could be between 50 and 68 inches).

After the brief scuffle, the weaker goose lowered his head and scurried off, with the third goose almost chasing and mocking him as he left.

Welcome to the "Gun Show".
The recipient of the smack down can be seen sneaking away, on the left.

Within seconds, the third goose was by the side of the victor and seemed to act as if it were a manager of a professional wrestler. It began making loud honking sounds, with a relatively low body posture, while the victor took to doing a double-bicep pose for the press.



Victoire! Victoire! Victoire! Victoire!

The victor proudly puffed its chest, stood high on its legs and raised both wings into the air in celebratory display.

Although this was happening approximately 80 yards away, I could feel myself getting intimidated by this showing. I’m not quite sure, but this could have been an instance where another male had walked into the area where a male and female had their nest, and the protectant male needed to defend his territory. Nevertheless, it was very impressive to watch and awesome to get photos of.

Enjoy