Ah, yes. The Canada Goose or “Canadian Goose” as it is more commonly known around here. Such an ubiquitous bird. If I were to rank all the birds on the Birds of NH list on a scale of favorite to least favorite, the Canada goose would be pretty far down there. Obviously, there’s no love lost between myself and this species.

To be honest, most of the time I don’t even think of the Canada goose as a bird as much as it being its own thing. Almost like I think of turkeys as being their own things. Except while I think of turkeys in a positive way, I most certainly don’t about the Canada goose.

Don’t get me wrong, objectively I think it’s a good looking bird. Dapper, in fact. It’s just that its so common around here, they can be aggressive and they always leave a huge mess wherever they go. Ever been to a soccer field after a flock of Canada geese have been there? It’s like walking through a minefield of green goose turds.

All that said, I don’t hate this species of bird. It is a classic addition to most New Hampshire scenes. Its loud honking calls are frequently heard from ponds, lakes and fields. Canada geese and mallards seem to get along well and are certainly the two most common waterfowl that I have seen. Below is an example of the two bird species intermingling on a cold October morning.

Besides their appearance and call, the Canada goose flies in a very recognizable V-shaped formation. They are in a somewhat small list of species that do this - larger birds including ducks and swans. This is done to save the birds’ energy, and while it is done year round, it is especially noticeable when droves of them are seen in the sky flying south during late fall. It is interesting to note that not all Canada geese migrate for the winter.