On July 1st, I had the pleasure of going with the State of Connecticut's Waterfowl Division on a goose banding outing in the Northeast corner of Connecticut. The banding of Resident Canada Geese began in the state in 2002 to study the migration and breeding population of the resident geese.
A little history- A resident Canada Goose is classified as a goose that is hatched or nests below the 48th parallel or in the continental United States and Canada below the 48º line of latitude excluding the province of Newfoundland. A migratory goose in the Atlantic Flyway will nest in Labrador, Newfoundland and Northern Quebec. In essence, a resident goose doesn't "migrate" in the traditional way. As their residential habitats freeze in the winter, they'll move to open water found in rivers, bays and estuaries.
Back in the early 1900's the migratory goose population was on a decline due to over- harvest. In the 1920s a winter feeding program was started in Litchfield, CT for migrant birds. Some of these birds stayed in the state for the breeding season. Market Hunters and sporting clubs would use live birds to attract migrating flocks. Around 1935 the use of live birds to attract migratory geese was banned and hunters and sporting clubs released their "decoys" into the wild. These first "resident" birds established breeding populations and also attracted migrant birds that just decided to stay.
Annually, the Connecticut DEP's Waterfowl Division travels to each county and bands upwards of 2000 resident geese during the months of June and July when the adult geese molt their flight feathers and are unable to take flight.
Capturing the geese was actually easier than I had thought. Since they can't fly, they are more or less funneled into a pen made with netting. While the geese are in the water, several of the Wildlife Division team are dispatched in kayaks and herd the group of geese into the pen.
Once captured, the goslings are immediately removed and handed off the waiting volunteers and team members for sex determination & banding. Any adult geese that have bands present (there were actually quite a few) are removed from the pen, band integrity evaluated and the number recorded. These were released with the goslings. The remainder are sexed and banded. The geese are classified as: Recap (recaptured), Adult. Juvenile and Local (goslings). Each unique band number is recorded with capture location, sex, and approximate age. Information from recovered bands is used to determine breeding populations and movement which in turn will help make sound decisions for the hunting seasons and annual bag limits.
In the Atlantic flyway, the resident goose population was estimated to be around 1.6 million birds in 1996 with a + or – 5% increase each year. In Connecticut alone, there was an estimated 10600 breeding pairs in 2007 (which actually was a slight decline from previous years). Multiply that by the 2 to 6 goslings each pair have per year by birds that can live to be 20 years old, that's a lot of geese and the reason that there is a resident or nuisance goose season.
If you ever get the opportunity to go on a goose banding outing, I would highly recommend it. It's educational and fun.
Special thanks to Min Huang and Kelly Kubik of the State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Wildlife Unit- Waterfowl Division for letting me tag along and help.
Terry Mahoney
Duck Junkies CT Pro Staff
Conservation
I am sure a lot of us duck junkies would like to know more and get more knowledge on this topic. As we all know the purpose of banding waterfowl or any migratory bird. That is to see the migration of the birds, where they stay, breed, and migrate.
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