Montana Field Guide

Canada Goose - Branta canadensis

Canada Goose is a goose of geographically variable size, averaging 64 to 117 cm long (smallest in the north). They have a black head and a neck marked with a broad white chin strap extending from ear to ear, plain large dark wings, and a black tail with a U-shaped white band on the rump (NGS 1983).

The Canada Goose differs from the Brant (Branta bernicla) in having a broad white chin strap rather than a small whitish patch on either side of the neck. It differs from the Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis) by the lack of a mostly white face and by having plain dark wings instead of blue-gray upperparts barred with black (NGS 1983).

Montana Range

In the Bozeman area, migration occurs from February 20 to April 15 and from October 15 to January 1, with peaks on March 15 and November 20 statewide (Skaar 1969).

On the lower Yellowstone River, broods are reared on island grasslands and meadows along the river. Dense brush is used when not feeding. In north-central Montana, Canada Geese nested on islands 76%, in sagebrush 6%, in meadows 18%, and on reservoirs of 3.7 to 33.3 acres (McCarthy 1973).

On the lower Yellowstone River, birds used winter wheat fields in early fall, corn fields in mid-fall, and a variety of fields and crops in late fall.

Gosling mortality (to flight stage) was 20-25% on Flathead Lake, less than 10% on Flathead River, and 0% at Ninepipe. At Freezeout Lake, they preferred to nest on islands more than 200 feet from shore and in more than 10 feet of water.

In the Flathead valley, eggs are laid from March 10 to April 25; hatching occurs from April 15 to May 25. Clutch size averages 5.35 (2-10); the average hatching was 3.53 in 1953 and 2.22 in 1954. Nesting success was 82.5% in 1953 and 60.3% in 1954. See also U70FLA01, U71CHI01, U58ATW01.