Geese are animals that feel ever present in people’s lives. From a common site around farms, to a harbinger of spring, these birds are so familiar that it’s easy to overlook them for the amazing creatures that they really are. Here are five things you didn’t know about geese. 

1. Some Geese are rare

Just about everyone is familiar with the extremely common Canada Goose, but there are actually around 15-20 different species of true geese worldwide, and a number of species that move through the United States each year, some of these birds are rare. Rarity of course is all relative and a bird like a Snow Goose that can be common during migration can be rare during other times of the year. For this reason there are different levels to goose rarity. Overall, Canada geese are among the most common in the United States. Their similar looking but smaller counterpart the Cackling Goose, the two white geese, snow and ross’s as well as greater white fronted are all migratory and are rare in certain states during certain parts of the year. Brants, which can be found along the pacific and atlantic coasts, are rare inland. And then there are the geese that are rare for the country as a whole. Birds like pink-footed goose and tundra bean goose are two examples of geese that find their way into the US and that birders will go to great lengths to see. I’ve been on a wild goose chase before when a tundra bean goose showed up about 7 hours away. I made the drive, and yes, it was totally worth it. 

2. They’re smarter than you think

There are a lot of words people use to describe geese, loud, annoying, messy, but one that they don’t usually use is intelligent. In reality, geese are actually way smarter than most people realize. First, geese have excellent memories. They can remember places that are dangerous, where to find food, places that were successful for nesting, and migratory routes. In addition to that, they also have an impressive ability to recognize individual humans. They have been known to change their behavior around different people, acting more friendly to people who feed them and acting hostile toward people who chase or harass them. People generally think of crows as being birds that hold grudges but maybe it’s time for people to try and make friends with their local geese.

One last thing about how geese brains work that isn’t really intelligence but it is fascinating. Geese sleep with one eye open and half of their brain active while sleeping. This helps them rest while still keeping an eye out for predators which is an amazing adaptation.

3. They make great guards

It may sound silly at first but geese actually have a reputation of being pretty good guard animals. In fact, this isn’t a new thing but rather something that has been done throughout history all the way back to ancient rome as well as many other countries across the globe. What makes geese good for this kind of job? Well for starters they are territorial and fiercely protective of their young. Anyone who has ever tried to walk passed a flock of Canada Geese with goslings can attest to this. Furthermore, they tend to stand their ground as opposed to flying away and can be insanely loud with their honking noises they make, notifying anyone in the area that an intruder is around. Additionally, remember the fact that they can recognize faces? That means they can be very sweet to humans that live there but angry and aggressive to strangers trying to come onto the property. The geese usually used as guards aren’t usually the smaller wild North American goose species but rather the more beefy domesticated species making them pretty intimidating. All of these traits make geese such good guard animals that they are actually still used today to watch over farms and even some bases and prisons.

4. They’re extreme flyers

One thing that geese are known for is the way they fly in V shaped flocks traveling north in spring and south in the fall. This migratory feat is sometimes taken for granted though as they are more impressive than people think. On average, during migration, geese fly at an altitude of between 2 and 9 thousand feet, but some have even been recorded as high as 20,000 feet. Not only is the height impressive though but also the distance. Goose migrations can be over 3 thousand miles, traveling from the southern United States to the arctic and back, sometimes going over a thousand miles without stopping. Part of what allows geese to travel such long distances are their aforementioned flight formations. These V shaped formations help geese to save energy by using the upward air current from the birds in front of them. They trade out the flock leader from time to time to prevent any individuals in the flock from getting too tired since the lead bird works much harder than the ones in the back of the flock.

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5. They’re family oriented

It’s not difficult to find birds that work together to build nests and raise young, but geese take it a step further. These birds are known for mating for life or at least staying together for many many years. This is especially true for most wild geese species, and some will even mourn the loss of their partner for a period of time before finding a new mate in the event that their partner passes away. However, it is worth noting that some such as Snow Geese do sometimes mate with multiple individuals in a single nesting season. Additionally, there is a study from Connecticut that I looked at that referenced what they called “divorce” between Canada geese in which they cited the number of goose pairs that separate at 15 to 18 percent. However, for the most part most geese do actually mate for life and work together to raise their young with the male usually protecting the territory and the female spending more time tending to the eggs.

Overall, geese are actually incredibly interesting birds that due to the familiarity we have with them probably get taken for granted. I hope you learned some things you didn’t know and if you liked this video be sure to take a look at another one of our videos on birds and birding and as always, thanks for watching, we’ll see you next time on Badgerland Birding