90 GEESE 



"Compared to most birds, the goose is not an early riser. At Horse- 

 shoe Lake they seldom left their night roost until after sun-up. On cold 

 mornings the sun was often an hour high before the geese left for their 

 feeding grounds. Once on the feeding grounds they seemed in no great 

 hurry to start feeding. The most active feeding period of the morning 

 was between 10:00 a.m. and noon. 



"Their method of feeding is unique. Leaving the night roost they 

 arrive at the feeding ground singly, in pairs, or in groups from 3 to 20 



in size. Singles, pairs, and groups ot 

 from 3 to 7 are most commonly seen. 

 There is reason to believe that these 

 ar e family groups. Singles may either 

 represent nonfeeders or the surviv- 

 ing bird of a pair or family. Pairs 

 may indicate adults which have lost 

 their families. Large groups may be 

 combinations of families, or, according to several raisers of wild geese to 

 whom I have talked, more than one generation of a given family. 



"Two types of feeding were noted (1) the 'vacuum cleaner' type, 

 (2) the desultory type. The first type was especially noticeable when 

 shelled corn or wheat was spread out in a long narrow line. The geese, 

 usually after dozing and resting for a while at some distance from the 

 food supply, suddenly all decided to feed at once. Without further delay 

 they would approach the end of the feed line and close in on it from all 

 directions in a very business-like manner. Invariably they soon became 

 packed together in an unbelievable small space, although it would have 

 been just as convenient for them to have spread out comfortably along 

 the feed line. Once on a feed line, the Honkers systematically mopped 

 up the feed like a vacuum cleaner, removing every kernel as they went. 

 If they became suspicious of some object near the center of the feed line, 

 they always made a wide circle and attacked the line at its opposite end. 

 While feeding they gave a humming noise that could be heard at a 

 considerable distance. 



"The desultory type of feeding was a family group affair rather 

 than a community banquet. While the juveniles (?) fed leisurely the 

 adults stood watch. From a blind I watched one group of seven birds 

 feed in this manner for over an hour. At no time were the birds more 

 than 25 yards from me. All that time one of the birds, probably an old 

 gander, kept constant watch. Most of the time another bird also kept 

 watch. Meanwhile, the other members of the group fed leisurely, never 

 once taking a turn at watching. If the sentinels were the parents and 

 the feeders their offspring, parental care in the goose must continue at 

 least until mid-February, when I made this observation." 



The Common Canada Goose is one of the earliest water birds to 

 migrate in the spring. "The first signs of approaching spring come 

 early in the far south, with the lengthening of the days and the increas- 

 ing warmth of the sun; the wild geese are the first to appreciate these 



