The Canada Goose — brown-bodied, black-necked, white chin strap — is now so abundant on Michigan ponds, golf courses, and office parks that it's easy to forget the giant race of this bird was once thought extinct. Restoration programs from the 1950s onward succeeded beyond anyone's plans, and today both resident and migratory populations use the state.
Geese pair for life, defend nests with theatrical hissing, and parade lines of goslings across roads every June. The V-formations that cross Michigan skies each spring and fall are aerodynamic teamwork: each bird surfs the upwash of the one ahead, and the lead position rotates.
A grazer: grasses, sedges, clover, and lawn turf, plus waste corn and grain in fall and winter, and aquatic plants tipped up from pond bottoms. Manicured lawns beside water are goose paradise — which explains a lot.
Many Michigan geese are "resident" birds descended from restoration stock that never learned long migration routes. With open water, lawns, and waste grain available year-round, they don't need to leave.
There's a nest nearby; the gander is defending it. Give it distance, keep eye contact while backing away calmly, and expect the behavior to end when goslings hatch within about a month.
Energy savings — each bird rides the rising air off the wingtips of the bird ahead, cutting flight effort measurably. The lead bird works hardest, so the position rotates through the flock.
They are. Numbers stay fairly steady from month to month, and the birds do not leave the state, though individuals shift around locally between nesting cover, woodlots, and feeders as food supplies change.
A gosling. Goslings are yellow-olive and downy, feed themselves within a day of hatching, and stay with their parents for a full year — which is why fall and winter flocks contain identifiable family groups. Several broods often merge into a 'gang brood' watched over by a few adults.
On the ground or water they are a gaggle; in flight the same birds become a skein, or a wedge when in a clean V. The V formation lets trailing birds ride the vortex off the wingtips ahead, and the lead position rotates.
Other birds you might be looking at instead.
Pick the park — it takes less than ten seconds.
Start typing the bird's name, then pick it from the list.
Suggest a birding spot to add to the map. I'll review it before it appears.
Thanks! Your suggestion has been sent for review.
Found something wrong or out of date? Tell me what to fix — it goes straight to my inbox. (No email needed.)
Thank you — your note is on its way. I appreciate the help keeping this accurate.