Pueblo is fairly moderate so the Canadian Geese do not really migrate. In the morning they fly east and in the evening they fly west. Geese are very interesting creatures in that when feeding about one of every five geese is a "guard goose", meaning that while the flock feeds on fallen grain, the guard geese are alert to their surroundings. If a dog were to come close, they would alert the flock and they would fly away.
Another interesting fact is that if one goose is injured in flight, two geese go down with the injured goose to stay with it until it is either dead or healed enough to fly. At that point the tree geese will either join another flock or find their own flock.
The flock flies in a "V" formation. The goose on the point of the "V" tires easily. When it is tired it drops back to the rear of the formation and the goose behind the falling leader moves forward and takes its place.
These are my geese back in the days when they had babies. My geese can not fly, but they behave much like the wild geese in the sense that the whole flock raises the babies. If a cat came around when they were in the yard, the adults would surround the babies and hiss at the intruder. It was always interesting to watch. Sadly my geese are very old and while they still lay eggs they are not fertile. I kind of miss the babies in the spring time.
Another interesting fact is that if one goose is injured in flight, two geese go down with the injured goose to stay with it until it is either dead or healed enough to fly. At that point the tree geese will either join another flock or find their own flock.
The flock flies in a "V" formation. The goose on the point of the "V" tires easily. When it is tired it drops back to the rear of the formation and the goose behind the falling leader moves forward and takes its place.
These are my geese back in the days when they had babies. My geese can not fly, but they behave much like the wild geese in the sense that the whole flock raises the babies. If a cat came around when they were in the yard, the adults would surround the babies and hiss at the intruder. It was always interesting to watch. Sadly my geese are very old and while they still lay eggs they are not fertile. I kind of miss the babies in the spring time.
I would like to go on record as saying my geese were very good parents, but they did let me touch and hold the young geese. The brown geese in the picture are African Grays. I am sure they are descended from the Canadian Geese. Domesticated geese such as the African Grays, Chinese and Emidens can not fly. It is the same with domesticated ducks. The only domesticated duck that can fly, to my best knowledge is the Muscovy. Muscovy Ducks are also warblers which means they talk. Sounds like a bunch of kids twittering.
Well, it is getting late so I better bid you good night and wander off to bed. My geese are all shut up in the goose house and safe from scary stuff so we can all sleep tonight knowing that the Canadian Geese out in the field are taking care of each other.
Wish more people were as considerate of each other as the geese are!
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