Decorah Geese and Blogs

A leap of faith from N1

April 14, 2025: Goslings at N1

The goslings took their Leap of Faith from N1 this morning! The drop from the nest to the riverbank is about 70 feet. Five of the goslings made it: the sixth hit a branch below the Y and did not. The five that made it quickly re-joined their parents on the riverbank and are currently downstream from Siewers Spring Road. Make way for goslings, everyone! Hatch watch for N2B begins on Friday, April 18. Link: https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/decorah-goose-cam/

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Canada Geese: Precocial versus Altricial

April 14, 2024: The last gosling hatches at N1.

As watchers know, Canada geese are nesting in two abandoned bald eagle nests in Decorah, Iowa. Hatch watch at N1 and our Bald Eagle nest in Trempealeau, Wisconsin starts tomorrow. This blog discusses the different between precocial Canada Geese and altricial Bald Eagles. Altricial eaglets rely on parental care until they fledge. But goslings are precocial: capable of moving around, self-feeding, and leaving the nest shortly after hatch. What does that mean? Read on to learn more! Canada Geese and

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What are Canada Geese Doing in a Bald Eagle Nest? 

Did I expect to find myself completely charmed by Canada Geese? I did not!

Why are we talking about Canada Geese? We’re watching geese in two abandoned Bald Eagle nests right now! Both nests have six eggs, although the geese in N1 – the first nest we watched Mom and Dad in – began laying on March 9 and the geese in N3B – a replacement nest we built in 2015 – began laying on March 18. Hatch watch for N1 starts on Saturday, April 12. Hatch watch for N2B starts on Monday, April

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Neighborhood Watch: Goose Edition!

Papa Gosse takes umbrage at an exploring raccoon!

What was going on with the geese this morning? A raccoon tried to get into the nest while both of them were there! This went a little better for the raccoon who investigated the eggs last week, before MG started full incubation: https://youtu.be/4QnHay1ajUo?si=QArQZVmF14IVnUiV and https://youtu.be/M9UbphJOjic?si=JNFzPJumJ-eVOwI1. But geese are large, formidable foes and the raccoon quickly backed down. How large are Canada Geese? Cornell tells us that they are 29.9-43.3 inches long (76-110 cm), weigh 6.5 to 20 pounds (I’m assuming

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A Canada Goose egg has landed in N1!

March 9, 2025: A first Canada Goose egg for N1!

Mother Goose laid her first egg of 2025 in N1 on Sunday, March 9, at 11:31 AM CDT. Based on our data, I believe she’ll lay egg #2 on March 11 between 8 and 11AM, although birds have tricked me before! Is this the goose we watched last year? We don’t know, although we do know that she started laying 10 days earlier than the geese did last year. Having said that, almost all of our birds have laid early

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February 3, 2025: Nestflix and News from Trempealeau, Fort St. Vrain, and Decorah!

February 2, 2025: Mr. T and his messy beak!

Put up your feet and relax – it’s time for NestFlix! Today, we have videos from Trempealeau and Fort St. Vrain, and an Odds and Ends about getting involved with nature in your community! Tick-tock, egg-clock: if DNF sticks to her usual schedule, we’ll see our first egg in just 13 days or so. I hope you are as eggcited as we are! Time flies when you’re watching eagles and falcons… Trempealeau Eagles February 3, 2025: Love is in the

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Detangling a gosling in Decorah!

April 15, 2024: Periscope up! Goslings can thermoregulate, but they will seek the warmth of their mother's body to escape from a chilly wind!

We were getting questions about an injured gosling, so Raptor Resource Project Master Bander David Kester went to check it out. He wrote: “The gosling was from a family unit that has the largest number of young and it was also the youngest. It could not walk and was separated from its clan. I netted the gosling and discovered that fishing line was wrapped around both legs. With the help of eagle (and gosling!) fan Lu Powers, I cut the

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Decorah Goose Update

April 24, 2024: MG and PG with their lone gosling.

Three geese hatched in total at N2B. After MG jumped yesterday, one followed her to the ground. But the other two remained in the nest and neither goose parent did much in the way of calling them down or encouraging them to come to the ground. We talked over a few plans and headed to the nest to monitor it from the ground. Shortly after 7PM, the goslings finally decided to jump, although it was unclear whether MG and PG

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April 19: Hatch watch at N2B, speckled goose visiting N1!

April 19, 2024: A leucistic Canada goose at N1

The specked goose we’ve been seeing at N1 has an unusual and beautiful pattern of feathers on her head. Her striking looks are the result of leucism, a partial loss of pigmentation that causes white coloration, white patches, spots, or splotches on skin or fur. She hasn’t yet laid an egg, but our camera operators are on the lookout for hatch at N2B. Spring is a busy time for birds and everyone who watches them! 🐣🐥🦅🪿 We’ve had some questions

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