A Goose with a View

While poking around in the woods next to the C & O Canal towpath for a good photo of Virginia Bluebells, I disturbed this Canada Goose (branta canadensis). He was immediately on the alert, honking in a threatening way, and eyeing me with suspicion. Movement above by his mate drew my eye to the top of the old railway support.


The female goose peered over the edge of the concrete to see what the ruckus was about but didn't move from her spot. I guessed she was nesting on the top of the structure.



The goslings are going to have quite a drop when they are ready to venture forth. But you have to admire this mama's ambitious choice of site. The eggs should be well protected from skunks or raccoons. However, crows and ravens also consider goose eggs a tasty tidbit--might the eggs be more exposed in this spot? Once the goslings leave the nest, (if they survive the drop) the Potomac is a short stumble down a bank and they will be waterborne.



Typically the female Canada goose chooses the nesting site, builds the nest and lays the eggs, while the male defends the territory from other animals including other geese. Isolated spots with good visibility are preferred. Despite being trailside, this pair's nest is over 10 miles down the towpath from Williamsport, with a grand view of the river and any cyclists or nosy amateur naturalists approaching from either direction.

Canada goose nests are not elaborate and are rather quickly thrown together: weeds, twigs, pine needles, grass or moss are assembled in a mound then rounded out and molded into shape by the goose's body as she nestles in. The average clutch has five eggs but might include up to nine. It would have been fun to watch the nest building process at this spot.

Canada geese are monogamous and most pairs mate for life. Life spans can range to over twenty years. I wonder if this pair has successfully nested here before. If so, do the other geese recognize that they have "dibs" on this site? Or perhaps they are upwardly mobile newly-weds producing their first brood. They remind me of the red-tailed hawks who famously nested high above New York's Central Park adjacent to Woody Allen's penthouse--with their very own 'deluxe apartment in the sky.'