Breeding Habitat:Wetland-open water
Nest Type:N/A
Migration Status:N/A
Nest Location:N/A
Intensive management efforts have dramatically increased populations of resident Canada Geese since the 1940s (Bellrose 1976). These activities are still occurring today and include transplant programs that have greatly expanded its breeding range in the United States and southern Canada, especially in the eastern half of the continent (Brauning 1992, Cadman et al. 1987, Hunkla 1968). The resident Canada Geese have benefitted from their close association with man. They frequently occupy farm ponds, golf courses, borrow pits, and other human-altered habitats as well as natural wetlands. While the BBS monitors these resident goose populations, it does not provide trend estimates for migratory populations breeding in the Arctic.
The continental population of resident Canada Geese has consistently increased since 1966, with the most substantial increases occurring after 1980 (Survey-wide Annual Indices). The trend estimates reflect a similar pattern (Trend List). Prior to 1980, small sample sizes preclude estimation of trends from most states/provinces and physiographic strata, although the regional trends are generally positive. Increased sample sizes after 1980 reflect the expansion of Canada Geese into states and provinces where they did not previously occur and expanding populations in states where they were already established. Significant trends during 1980-1994 are entirely positive, as is true for the long-term (1966-1994) trends. Only the states bordering the Pacific Ocean have consistently non-significant trends.
Population increases are prevalent across the United States and southern Canada (Trend Map). Local declines are evident in only a few western states. Canada Geese become locally numerous in the western states, but are also plentiful from the Great Lakes across southern Canada (Relative Abundance Map). However, the local abundance along BBS routes can be strongly influenced by periodic encounters with large flocks of geese.
Bellrose, F.C. 1976. Ducks, geese, and swans of North America.
Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA. 544p.
Brauning, D.W., ed. 1992. Atlas of breeding birds in
Pennsylvania. Univ. Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA. 484p.
Cadman, M.D., P.F.J. Eagles, and F.M. Helleiner, eds. 1987. Atlas
of breeding birds of Ontario. Univ. Waterloo Press, Waterloo,
Ontario. 617p.
Hunkla, D.J. 1968. Summary of Canada Goose transplant programs on
nine national wildlife refuges in the southeast, 1953-1965.
Pp. 104-111 in R.L. Hine and C. Schoenfeld, eds. Canada Goose
Management: Current continental problems and programs. Demar
Educational Res. Serv., Madison, WI.