Giant Canada Geese - Monarch Flyway

UH-WHONK! Uh-whonk! This resounding rumor announces: Flyways license fees increase! Long before you can see them from the ground, this distinct sound announces their presence in the sky. Soon the famous and majestic V. formations appear. You wonder: where do they come from? Where are you going? Let Wawa (the Ojibwa word for a giant Canadian goose) tell his story.

Stay

What wonderful care mom gave us. He chose a place on his bare chest and used the feather to cover our nest. The warm, bare skin area was in turn pressed against each egg to facilitate the incubation process. Finally, after 28 days, I was looking for the white mussel that surrounded me and was soon joined by eight cute siblings. When the mother left the nest for a short time, she made sure that we tanned blankets were protected and out of sight in the pleasant warmth of the gray-brown blanket that covered our nest. This blanket not only isolated us from the hot and cold but also disguised us from the penetrating eyes of seagulls and other predators.

While the mother sat on the nest, the father patrolled the Arctic island of tundra, on the sea hill, where our nest was built with a long and upright black neck. His pitch-black eyes were constantly searching for warning signs. A strong Uh-Whonk! or a hissing tells the mother to flatten and straighten the neck and head. Then he would keep quiet until the danger passed. Its gray-brown body with its distinctive white crescent just in front of the black tail was a perfect camouflage. Sometimes a fox or a wolf invaded the kingdom my father ruled. When the ducks stopped near the mother, we saw how it anxiously attacked the predator with its two meter wide wings and hit hard. Soon the enemy began to bark and he was forced to dive into the water with his tail between his legs. The predator learned the hard way that a Canadian goose weighing five to ten kilos did not allow nonsense behind the flapping wings.

A few days later we follow the mother with happy "whistles" in the water. My father was our ass. Until we were tough, we returned to the nest every night to warm ourselves under our mother's big wings. So when our parents changed feathers during the annual change, we were all stuck on the ground and could not fly. Therefore, our elders always kept us close when we swam through the reeds and the tall grass in search of juicy candies: aquatic insects, bulbous aquatic plants, tender herbs and wild berries. When our parents got a new plumage, we also had well-developed wings and tail feathers. Now it was time to learn how to use our wings.

Flight training

Our Creator gave us beautiful, solid and aerodynamic wings. When fully developed, the leading edge is thick and blind and tapers to a distance of about 0.5 meters to the fineness of a spring at the trailing edge. To facilitate lifting, the wing is slightly concave at the bottom and bends upwards at the top. We can descend to altitudes of 2100 to 2700 meters by simply keeping our wings open to navigate the air currents. But on the highway, our wings drive us at speeds between 40 and 60 miles per hour. Its downward movement is "force stroke". The tips of our "primary", as you call the ten large springs on the tip of each wing, fold against the air resistance and rotate at an angle to our wings. In this way, they "bite" the air, like a propeller in some of their "mechanical birds".

With newly grown feathers, our parents took off and sailed over us with ease, yelling at us and flapping their wings to show us what to do. We fought by flapping our wings and running from side to side. Eventually we discovered the ability to walk on the ground or on water to fly. As we trained to fly every day, our wing muscles got stronger and stronger. Sometimes the landings weren't that real when we jumped into the water with a big bang. But bit by bit, we learned to use our whole body and wings as air brakes and to stretch our big feet (we're notorious for this) to make the first contact with the water or the ground. As we improved our skills, our parents encouraged us with great approval. All of this training prepared us for the day we would follow them through the air for our first migratory flight this fall.

I preferred our pilot training to the experience of some of our cousins ​​who live in the treetops or on rocky heights. When the parents realize that it's time for the babies to leave the nest, they just scream at them from below. The down climbs to the edge of the nest and begins with short wings that flap madly. Soft cover and wing movement create air resistance and break the carcass. Therefore, your first solo flight will usually end well. However, there is a constant risk of getting stuck in a thorn on the way down. In Osoyoos, BC, a meticulous mom overcame this peril a few years ago by gifting them a free, open cockpit-style plane and bringing them back to the ground safely!

After improving our flying skills, we joined other families. The time for migration was drawing near. What constant commotion! Maybe because we are so scary when you see us in shelters, you might think we are talking about the world's problems. But it's not like that. We only have our goose tongue, made up of whistles, growls, wah-kum, kum! sperm! Sperm! Snoring, howling, howling and loud oh-oos. We whistle and honk to warn of dangers. cruel and snoring of satisfaction; Leave a series of smooth wah-kum to attract our friend. sweet cold kids cum! sperm! sperm!; give way to loud yps, calls and oh-oos when attacked and bitten by another bird; and of course many of you are familiar with our uh-whonk anime!

In the meantime, the built-in migration clock has struck all of us. Finally the time has come and with a powerful wing flutter we flew. We got mainly V from two families quickly and on our first trip we drove 483-644 kilometers for winter forage. Our migratory route eventually took us through Manitoba, Minnesota and along the Mississippi to the Gulf Coast of Texas.

Is it the oldest and the wisest of the geese that takes the lead in the migration? No. The next time you follow our royal processions, watch carefully and you will see the main bird change its position from time to time. Often a woman takes the initiative. You see, we believe in breaking free from the difficult task of “breaking” the air for those who follow us. Other birds fly alongside the bird a bit, giving us around thirty-six hyperopic eyes for looking for good places to rest and eat, or for people who want a good big goose for a good meal. . Often times every move you make will be recognized in the blind eyes of your hunter long before we are at your arms. We are fortunate to have good eyesight and precise hearing.

Mating 

Over the months, a new instinct has developed in us: the desire to make a friend. What a thrill when each of us said our intention with head bowed, neck outstretched and hissed, and ran towards our object! How happy we felt when he responded in the same way! When we gently rub our necks, we agree to become "dear" for the second year of our life and wait until the next year to mate. So first watch our "wedding ceremony", then goose, dip your head in the water then pour the water on your back and tell everyone that you are "married". Our marriage is for life or, as you say, "until death do us part".Giant Canada Geese - Monarch Flyway

UH-WHONK! Uh-whonk! This resounding rumor announces: Flyways license fees increase! Long before you can see them from the ground, this distinct sound announces their presence in the sky. Soon the famous and majestic V. formations appear. You wonder: where do they come from? Where are you going? Let Wawa (the Ojibwa word for a giant Canadian goose) tell his story.

Stay

What wonderful care mom gave us. He chose a place on his bare chest and used the feather to cover our nest. The warm, bare skin area was in turn pressed against each egg to facilitate the incubation process. Finally, after 28 days, I was looking for the white mussel that surrounded me and was soon joined by eight cute siblings. When the mother left the nest for a short time, she made sure that we tanned blankets were protected and out of sight in the pleasant warmth of the gray-brown blanket that covered our nest. This blanket not only isolated us from the hot and cold but also disguised us from the penetrating eyes of seagulls and other predators.

While the mother sat on the nest, the father patrolled the Arctic island of tundra, on the sea hill, where our nest was built with a long and upright black neck. His pitch-black eyes were constantly searching for warning signs. A strong Uh-Whonk! or a hissing tells the mother to flatten and straighten the neck and head. Then he would keep quiet until the danger passed. Its gray-brown body with its distinctive white crescent just in front of the black tail was a perfect camouflage. Sometimes a fox or a wolf invaded the kingdom my father ruled. When the ducks stopped near the mother, we saw how it anxiously attacked the predator with its two meter wide wings and hit hard. Soon the enemy began to bark and he was forced to dive into the water with his tail between his legs. The predator learned the hard way that a Canadian goose weighing five to ten kilos did not allow nonsense behind the flapping wings.

A few days later we follow the mother with happy "whistles" in the water. My father was our ass. Until we were tough, we returned to the nest every night to warm ourselves under our mother's big wings. So when our parents changed feathers during the annual change, we were all stuck on the ground and could not fly. Therefore, our elders always kept us close when we swam through the reeds and the tall grass in search of juicy candies: aquatic insects, bulbous aquatic plants, tender herbs and wild berries. When our parents got a new plumage, we also had well-developed wings and tail feathers. Now it was time to learn how to use our wings.

Flight training

Our Creator gave us beautiful, solid and aerodynamic wings. When fully developed, the leading edge is thick and blind and tapers to a distance of about 0.5 meters to the fineness of a spring at the trailing edge. To facilitate lifting, the wing is slightly concave at the bottom and bends upwards at the top. We can descend to altitudes of 2100 to 2700 meters by simply keeping our wings open to navigate the air currents. But on the highway, our wings drive us at speeds between 40 and 60 miles per hour. Its downward movement is "force stroke". The tips of our "primary", as you call the ten large springs on the tip of each wing, fold against the air resistance and rotate at an angle to our wings. In this way, they "bite" the air, like a propeller in some of their "mechanical birds".

With newly grown feathers, our parents took off and sailed over us with ease, yelling at us and flapping their wings to show us what to do. We fought by flapping our wings and running from side to side. Eventually we discovered the ability to walk on the ground or on water to fly. As we trained to fly every day, our wing muscles got stronger and stronger. Sometimes the landings weren't that real when we jumped into the water with a big bang. But bit by bit, we learned to use our whole body and wings as air brakes and to stretch our big feet (we're notorious for this) to make the first contact with the water or the ground. As we improved our skills, our parents encouraged us with great approval. All of this training prepared us for the day we would follow them through the air for our first migratory flight this fall.

I preferred our pilot training to the experience of some of our cousins ​​who live in the treetops or on rocky heights. When the parents realize that it's time for the babies to leave the nest, they just scream at them from below. The down climbs to the edge of the nest and begins with short wings that flap madly. Soft cover and wing movement create air resistance and break the carcass. Therefore, your first solo flight will usually end well. However, there is a constant risk of getting stuck in a thorn on the way down. In Osoyoos, BC, a meticulous mom overcame this peril a few years ago by gifting them a free, open cockpit-style plane and bringing them back to the ground safely!

After improving our flying skills, we joined other families. The time for migration was drawing near. What constant commotion! Maybe because we are so scary when you see us in shelters, you might think we are talking about the world's problems. But it's not like that. We only have our goose tongue, made up of whistles, growls, wah-kum, kum! sperm! Sperm! Snoring, howling, howling and loud oh-oos. We whistle and honk to warn of dangers. cruel and snoring of satisfaction; Leave a series of smooth wah-kum to attract our friend. sweet cold kids cum! sperm! sperm!; give way to loud yps, calls and oh-oos when attacked and bitten by another bird; and of course many of you are familiar with our uh-whonk anime!

In the meantime, the built-in migration clock has struck all of us. Finally the time has come and with a powerful wing flutter we flew. We got mainly V from two families quickly and on our first trip we drove 483-644 kilometers for winter forage. Our migratory route eventually took us through Manitoba, Minnesota and along the Mississippi to the Gulf Coast of Texas.

Is it the oldest and the wisest of the geese that takes the lead in the migration? No. The next time you follow our royal processions, watch carefully and you will see the main bird change its position from time to time. Often a woman takes the initiative. You see, we believe in breaking free from the difficult task of “breaking” the air for those who follow us. Other birds fly alongside the bird a bit, giving us around thirty-six hyperopic eyes for looking for good places to rest and eat, or for people who want a good big goose for a good meal. . Often times every move you make will be recognized in the blind eyes of your hunter long before we are at your arms. We are fortunate to have good eyesight and precise hearing.

Mating 

Over the months, a new instinct has developed in us: the desire to make a friend. What a thrill when each of us said our intention with head bowed, neck outstretched and hissed, and ran towards our object! How happy we felt when he responded in the same way! When we gently rub our necks, we agree to become "dear" for the second year of our life and wait until the next year to mate. So first watch our "wedding ceremony", then goose, dip your head in the water then pour the water on your back and tell everyone that you are "married". Our marriage is for life or, as you say, "until death do us part".