Canada geese may be just barely visible beneath a cover of marsh mist but their morning talk is unmistakable. Their communication is not just limited to their signature honk but to a medley of sounds as they wake to another day in another marsh.
According to Ducks Unlimited, Canada geese may be only next to humans in their talkativeness. Greetings, warnings and contentment are all communicated from the time a gosling is still in its shell.
However, as there are some humans who like to talk more than others, there are probably some geese who are also more talkative than the rest. I wonder if some geese put their heads underwater to get away from the nagging chatter under the pretext of finding food.
Don't even think of flying next to her today!
Considering the amount of effort that goes into planning a trip abroad for a large group, it’s probably the communication skills of geese that allow them to be so successful in their migrations year after year.
Geese are known to share the responsibilities of leadership, especially in flight. Also, if a member of the flock is injured, two will stay behind to nurse it back to health, rejoining the larger flock together after it recovers. Any of these actions would require a great deal of planning and discussion. No wonder they’re so talkative!
Once the geese have breakfast, make their flight plans and leave, quiet returns to the marsh until the next flock arrives to spend the evening.
For more information about these beautiful and talkative birds, see Facts on Canada Geese at Ducks Unlimited.
How FASCINATING, Amy. Had no idea Canadian geese were so chatty. ‘Our’ Egyptian geese (well, I don’t think they’re indigenous) are also very loud, but they primarily honk.
The second-last photo with the sky perfectly reflected in the lake is simply perfect. The water is so still that I’m not sure which is up and which is down! 🙂
Reggie, Canada geese are mostly known for their honking too. I’m always amazed at how far their sounds will carry. It is a wonder to see large flocks of them either in the marsh or in flight, all making a raucous.
The water was quite still. Perhaps some of the geese were remarking on their lovely reflection in the water prior to take-off 😉
Giggle… most likely! 😉
Maybe this explains why hearing them overhead always makes me smile. I can hear them even at the bookstore if I’m near the front windows and they’re flying low. Last group I saw was headed northwest, and I said aloud, “Attaway, guys! Don’t leave us yet!” Clearly, someone in the group had forgotten to turn off the iron or unplug the toaster.
Ha ha Pamela 🙂
Ohhh so beautiful shots!
Marinela, the marsh landscape sure offers a lot of opportunities for photographing awesome sights.
yes, and fortunately for us you’re there to capture them! Breathtaking, really.
Nuele from Germany
Love it when I hear the honking from far off. I look up and scan the sky. Far overhead I see the V’s of geese in formation. Heading south. The honks now receding in the distance.
Sybil, we’ll have to try to get out into the marsh this week to see them more up close and personal. However, there is something magical about seeing and hearing them so far up in the distance.
Oh how funny, Amy-Lynn, we’re on the same wavelength again! I just posted about Canada geese, too, although in a different context… It’s so lovely to hear them honking overhead, although melancholy, as well. Sweetly beautiful and sad, simultaneously. Thanks for this post.
Kathy, that does not surprise me. I’ll be over for a visit to check out your geese. I find their honking especially awesome on foggy days when I can’t see them.
My sister lives in Scotland where the Canada geese are just in the process of leaving now. People come for miles around to watch and photograph them early in the morning, taking off from the reservoir near where they live. It’s a spectacular sight. Imagine all the goose-chat and organising that goes into that!.Good job they don’t have to pack as well!
Lynne, I didn’t know the Canada geese spent time in Scotland too. Wow. They sure do get around.
I love your drawing and the humorous caption! We have lots of Canada Geese stopping off by our pond on their migrations – I wonder if some are the same ones who visit your marsh… Some of them seem to spend the winter here. They do vocalize a lot and after reading your post I have some new ideas about what they might be saying! 🙂
Thanks Barbara. Imagine if migrating birds had labels pasted on them like luggage, showing all the spots they’d visited?
I am always surprised at how far the geese can be heard. Even when flying so high and far away as to be barely visible, they can always be heard.
Lovely photos as usual, Amy 🙂
Thanks Eldrid. I wonder how far their honking sounds can be carried through the air.
What beautiful pictures and interesting information about your Canada geese ! This is a view we do not see over here. Smaller birds have started migrating though and before they go, they come and enjoy the apples in our garden 🙂 foresighted little birds.
Isabelle, from the comments it seems like these Canada geese belong to more than just Canadians. It must make you feel so good to know that your apples are a pre-flight meal for the migrating flocks. Like truckers, they probably know the best places to dine.
Lovely post, Amy Lynn, and informative. Beautiful light in your images and I love your illustration and its caption very much. I certainly know that they are noisy, but I didn’t realize they were known to communicate such a range of information (and while still in the egg! Wow!) I stayed near a small pond in farm country last weekend and had the opportunity to watch the comings and goings of the Canada geese as they used the pond for a rest stop. At sunrise, there was just one lone goose on the pond who eventually took off on its own before small groups began to arrive back from the fields later on in the morning. I wondered if it slept through the alarm.
Thank you Cindy. That they communicate while still in the egg amazed me too. Last year I saw a lone goose that seemed to be left behind in the marsh and also wondered how it managed to be left behind. But it seems that there are so many flocks coming and going that, if one does sleep in, it can always take a later flight.