Canada Geese

It's that time of the year when babies are popping up all over the place. One of the earlier nesters here in the north are the Canada geese. Many of them are already off of the nest and are leading around 4 to 10 little yellow fuzz balls.

At one point the Canada goose was on the verge of extinction. The giant subspecies was actually thought to be extinct in the 1950's until a flock was discovered in Rochester Minnesota in 1962. Today the Canada goose has made an amazing recovery. In some places they are even considered a nuisance but when you see the little down covered chicks race to keep up with mom and dad it is hard to think of them as anything but cute.

Reflection that Almost Was Not

Though it is hard to believe now the Canada goose was at one time in peril. These large geese nest in Canada and the northern United States and migrate to the southern United States for the winter. Because of too much hunting and habitat loss the Canada goose populations were dwindling. Several subspecies were on the brink of extinction. Fortunately changes in hunting regulations and changes in the law helped protect the remaining population and they have since rebounded to the point where many states now have to work to control the population.

Tuesday Tweets

Most people do not get overly excited when they see Canada geese but imagine things might be different if you spotted the goose above. Even though it looks quite different it is indeed a Canada goose. This goose is leucistic. Most people are familiar with the term albino but not so familiar with the term leucistic. Albino birds do not produce melanin, which gives birds their color. Albino birds are easily identified by their pink eyes. Leucistic birds produce melanin but it is not deposited normally on the feathers. Both conditions are genetic mutations that are unusual to extremely rare. This goose is leucistic because its body is producing melanin but it is not being deposited properly in some of the feathers that it should.

Canada Goose

The Canada goose is one of the most recognizable birds in North America. Since it can be found in every U.S. state and every provence of Canada at one time of the year or another it is rare to find someone who has never seen one. Here in Minnesota they are so abundant that many people consider them a nuisance. However around 100 years ago the Canada goose was in danger of going extinct. Due to over hunting and habitat loss many of the subspecies were in serious decline. The giant Canada goose was believed extinct until a small flock was found wintering in Rochester, MN in 1962. Fortunately with new hunting regulations and conservation laws the Canada goose was saved and today they are considered a conservation success story.

Welcome to Summer 2011

Today is the summer solstice,in the Northern Hemisphere, and officially the first day of summer. Our changing seasons are the result of the tilt of the planet which fluctuates between 22.1 to 24.5 degrees. The summer solstice is the date when the Northern Hemisphere is the closest distance to the sun. This is also the day with the most daylight of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Things are just opposite in the Southern Hemisphere where they have the winter solstice and the least amount of daylight in the year.

It may officially be summer but it does not seem a lot like summer here. The temperatures have been below average so far this June, although we had our first 100 plus day in the past five years earlier this month. We have are a bit above average in the rainfall department but we have had many days that have been cloudy and gray, making it difficult to take picture like the ones of the Canada goose family above. I took these photos in June 2010 at the Bass Ponds. The weather was quite a bit more cooperative in 2010 then it has been so far this year.

Young Canada Goose

Canada goose

One of the larger waterfowl that we commonly see in the northern parts of North America is the Canada goose. Although they are quite common today the Canada goose was facing a serious population decline in the early to mid 1900s. this was due mainly to habitat loss and over hunting. A subspecies of Canada goose, the giant Canada goose, was thought to be extinct until a flock of them were found in Rochester, MN in 1962. To prevent these birds from becoming extinct hunting laws were changed and land was set aside to provide habitat. Since then there population has rebound and are now often viewed on by some people as a pest.