If you have not seen any Canada geese yet this year, you should soon. The migration is on, and some stay in the state year-round — for example, along the Missouri River.
Most everyone is familiar with Canada geese. They are easily identified by their black neck and head with a white cheek patch, and the body is brown with pale chest and white undertail. They are the most widely distributed goose in North America.
Their breeding range runs from Alaska, eastward to most of Canada, as well as some northern border states, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Minnesota. And please note that they are not “Canadian” geese, eh! They are Canada geese.
It might surprise some of you, but biologists used to recognize one species of Canada goose (Branta canadensis), which consisted of several subspecies that were largely based on differences in size.
However, more recent genetic studies have led the American Ornithologists Union to split it into two species. The larger forms, perhaps seven subspecies, are still the Canada goose (Branta canadensis). The four smallest subspecies are now known as cackling geese (Branta hutchinsi).
Historically the only subspecies known to nest in the Great Plains, which of course includes North Dakota, was the giant Canada goose (Branta canadensis maxima) which may weigh in at around 12-13 pounds.
However, by the early 1900s, most experts considered them to be extinct due to hunting pressure, habitat destruction, and other factors. But then, in 1962, Illinois Natural History Survey biologist Dr. Harold Hanson discovered what turned out to be giant Canada geese in Rochester, Minnesota. In the 1920s, Dr. Charles Mayo had reportedly purchased 15 giant Canada geese in North Dakota.
Numerous restoration efforts of giant Canada geese around the country have been widely and wildly successful. That is also true for North Dakota. Breeding populations of giant Canada geese can now be found in every county in the state. Oh, and for Rochester, the city known worldwide for the Mayo Clinic, it is also widely known for the thousands of giant Canada geese that call Rochester home.
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Further Reading
How was the giant Canada goose rediscovered in Rochester after being declared extinct? A Mayo brother’s private flock led to a rediscovery of these big birds. Decades later, the geese nearly took over town. Read more in the Minnesota Star Tribune →
