Sunday, March 18, 2007

You've Got Ring Around The Collar!


I suppose a lot of people get tired of seeing Canada Geese. They sure make a mess of the area . It's estimated that the total number of resident Canada Geese is roughly 3.2 million. That is a dramatic increase from a few decades ago.


Most of the 11 subspecies of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) are encountered in the lower 48 States only during the fall, winter and spring of the year and migrate to the arctic and sub-arctic regions of Canada and Alaska to nest.


Despite the fact that resident Canada Geese may be a nuisance, I have come to enjoy searching through flocks of Canadas. One reason is to try to see if something different is mixed in with a flock-like a Cackling Goose, for example. The other reason is to see if I can find one with a yellow marked collar. I saw for with yellow collars today.


They use these to track the Geese to gather information about migration, population, and other important data. I enjoy getting the number off of the collars reporting them. Have you ever reported a collared neck band before? Where was bird(s) you reported banded? -If you haven't this will give you something new to search for.


Send the information to:Patuxent Wildlife Research Center . They will respond with an e-mail and letter telling you where the bird was originally banded.

1 comment:

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Canada geese are considered quite a nuisance here. We have MANY lakes here in the Twin Cities and those with lake homes deal with the mess. Since I don't have a lake home or golf (the other complainers) I don't mind seeing them around. I was lucky to see a cackling goose in the mix once. I've never seen a collar though, so I'll be on the lookout!