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At one time there were eleven recognized subspecies of Canada Goose (Branta canadensis). However, in the early 21^st century the smaller subspecies were given a separate species designation as the Cackling Goose (Branta Hutchinsii). The Canada Goose is generally gray-brown on the back and wings, with a light gray chest and belly, and a black upper-rump, tail, neck and head. The head has a distinctive white cheek patch, and the tail is separated from the body by a white crescent on the lower-rump. Giant Canada geese may have a white band extending between their eyes. Generally speaking the two largest subspecies, the giant and the western, are the lightest in color; the next darkest in color are the Richardson's and lesser. The estimated population of all Canada and Cackling Goose subspecies in 1996 was over 2,500,000; with about 1,000,000 of those the once thought to be extinct Giant subspecies.

The sizes of the different subspecies of Canada Goose range from 6 pounds in the smaller subspecies to 16 pounds in the larger subspecies. There is a record of a 27-pound Giant Canada Goose in Manitoba. Overall lengths range from 22-45 inches from bill to tail. Six-foot wingspreads may be reached in the Giant Canada Goose. Canada geese regularly have 70 percent nesting success rates. Of their nesting losses, 48 percent are attributed to predators, and 42 percent are due to nest desertion.

The subspecies of Canada geese, from largest to smallest, with average adult female and male weights in pounds, include the giant (B. c. maxima) 11.1 and 12.5, western (B. c. moffitti) 8.2 and 9.9, Vancouver (B. c. occidentalis) 8.2 and 9.9, dusky (B. c. fulva) 8.3 and 9.9, Todd's (B. c. interior) 7.7 and 9.2, Atlantic (B. canadensis) 7.6 and 8.8, lesser (B. c. parvipes) 5.4 and 6.1.

From east to west the subspecies of Canada geese, listed in descending order of population numbers, with their relative nesting areas/flyways are: the North Atlantic Population: Atlantic; Mid-Atlantic Population: interior, Atlantic, giant; Tennessee Valley Population: interior, giant; Mississippi Population: interior, giant; Eastern Prairie Population: interior, Richardson's, lesser, giant; Western Prairie Population: interior, giant, lesser, Richardson's; Tallgrass Population: Richardson's, lesser, giant; Shortgrass Population: lesser, Richardson's, giant; Hi-Line Population: western, giant; Intermountain Population: western; Northwest Coast Population: Vancouver.

The giant Canada goose (Branta candensis maxima) of central Canada and the northern United States reaches 45 inches in length, with up to 72 inch wing spans, and weights up to 15 pounds. They were thought to be extinct until Dr. Harold Hanson of the Illinois Natural History Survey, and other researchers, rediscovered them in Rochester, Minnesota in 1962. They now number over a million birds, comprising over a third of all Canada goose subspecies in North America. All of the geese that nest in Minnesota, about 50,000, are giant Canada's.

Giants are the largest subspecies of Canada goose, and because their size allows them to withstand cold temperatures better than smaller geese, they are able to stay farther north in the winter than the smaller subspecies. Giant Canadas in urban areas like Minneapolis and St. Paul. Minnesota, and Chicago and Elgin, Illinois may not migrate at all.

Unlike most other geese, giant Canadas often mate at two years of age; the smaller subspecies of Canada geese often mate when they are four years old. Giants generally nest farther south than the smaller Canada goose subspecies, often in areas where there is more abundant forage for their large appetites. Because giants don't nest in inhospitable sub-arctic regions like their smaller relatives, they often breed earlier than other geese and they generally have better nesting success than other geese, with clutches of from 2-12 eggs; smaller geese usually have 2-6 eggs per clutch.

As a result of their large body size, and their habit of living in urban areas, giant Canadas are less susceptible to predators than other geese. In the urban areas where many giant Canada geese live, all of the young may reach six months of age. Since giant Canadas nest farther south and winter farther north than other geese, they also receive less hunting pressure (as little as 50 days) than geese that migrate from as far north as Canada and the Arctic Circle to the Gulf Coast (which may be subjected to as much as 120 days of hunting). The earlier mating habits, higher reproduction rates, lower predation rates, and less hunting mortality of giant Canada geese has led to a population explosion of giants in many areas. Giant Canada geese have become a nuisance in many urban areas, where they leave droppings and destroy grass on parks, golf courses and lakeshore properties.

The giant Canada geese that nest in the Interlake region of Manitoba, between Lake Winnipeg and Lake Winnipegosis, stage on Silver Lake in downtown Rochester, Minnesota and the surrounding rivers, ponds and gravel pits on the Rochester (Minnesota) Goose Refuge. About half of the 35,000 geese that stage on the Rochester Refuge each year remain in the area through the winter; the others migrate to areas near Kansas City, Kansas. 

These photos were taken on our Fall Birding Tours and Photography Trips in east central Minnesota.

Canada Geese 2540

Canada Geese 5317

Canada Geese Feeding 5045

Canada Goose 3502

Canada Geese 5318

Canada Geese 1517

Canada Geese 2403

Canada Geese 2416

Canada Geese 2587

Canada Geese 1511

Canada Geese 0196

Canada Geese 0197 

Canada Geese 0198

Canada Geese 1209

0534

Pelicans & Cormorants

American White Pelicans & Double-crested Cormorants 5061

American White Pelican, with breeding colors and breeding knob on the bill, and breeding head plumes. 7583, T.R. Michels

T.R. Michels Wildlife Photos

All of the photos on this page are the copyrighted material of T.R. Michels / Trinity Mountain Outdoors, and may not be used or copied without express written permission.

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