Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)

Canada Goose [lateral view of banded and collared adult preening]. Photograph Credit: Stephen J. Stedman; Cane Creek Park, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee; 4 October 2001.

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Abundance: Common during all seasons; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); the trend for the Permanent Resident breeding population has been strongly positive since the late 1970s, but the trend for the wintering population is not determinable (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Permanent Resident mainly, but some influx of northern breeders probably still occurs during winter; the Permanent Resident population is the result of a re-introduction program, involving "Giant" Canada Geese believed to have been originally native to the Region, carried out by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency since the 1970s; photograph [lateral view of collared and banded individual preening] (Stephen J. Stedman; Cane Creek Park, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee; 4 October 2001).

Regional High Count and CBC/CBB High Count: 809 (17 December 2011; Putnam County, Tennessee [Cookeville CBC]; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 595 (4 October 2008; White County, Tennessee [FBC]; m. ob.); SBC/SBB High Count: 253 (8 May 2010; Putnam County, Tennessee (SBC]; m. ob.).

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent). Breeding sites optimally include a pond or lake with small islands on which the nest is contructed. Will attempt nesting along pond- and lake-shores but with lesser success than at ponds or lakes with islands.

Habitat: Park-like situations with large areas of grass and a large pond or lake.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 24 (of 125) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 85 (of 206) check-lists during 2004, leading to YardWatch frequency classifications of Uncommon and Fairly Common, respectively; these YardWatch frequency classifications indicate that this goose is a bit less likely to be encountered in Regional yards and neighborhoods than in the Region as a whole.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: This species was once the posterbird for the wild, migratory avifauna of North American, causing exhilaration when flocks were detected passing northward during spring and southward during fall, and it may still inspire that feeling in observers in some part of the continent, but the advent of a permanent resident population in many areas of the southern part of its breeding range gave rise to familiarity with some of the less likeable aspects of its daily routine and that familiarity, as it so often does, bred contempt. Despite its licking in the opinion polls, indicated by its sometimes being labeled the "flying hog," this goose has demonstrated great resilience in becoming a year-round fixture of many sites with suitable habitat (see above).

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited