Comments on: Why aren't sitting geese "sitting ducks"?

Question: Why aren't sitting geese "sitting ducks"?

turbojav — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 17:45:10 -0800

I'm visiting an area with a small lake. During the day Canada geese scour the adjacent fields for gleanings. They return to the lake at night where they huddle together in the center, where there is a circle of water that has not yet been frozen. This part of the US also is home to bald eagles. Why don't raptors, particularly those adapted to water, have a field day preying on these "sitting geese"?

By: JMOZ

JMOZ — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 17:51:30 -0800

I'm under the impression that bald eagles are primarily scavengers and fish thieves. In fact, the wikipedia page on bald eagles includes Ben Franklin's thoughts on the matter.

By: JackFlash

JackFlash — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 18:02:47 -0800

JMOZ has it. Their primary food is fish. Plus the fact that an adult goose and an adult bald eagle are both approximately the same weight, 4 kg. An eagle could never get off the ground with a goose.

The geese spend the night in the water to avoid land predators like coyotes, foxes and dogs.

By: thehmsbeagle

thehmsbeagle — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 18:05:35 -0800

Also, geese are quite feisty. I don't know if you've ever gotten on the wrong side of a goose, but they're scary. With the wings beating and the honking! If I were an eagle, even if the goose and I weren't the same size, I'd think it over before attacking.

By: Urban Hermit

Urban Hermit — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 18:14:41 -0800

With the wings beating and the honking!

Never mind all that. They bite. Hard.

By: furtive

furtive — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 18:23:52 -0800

Lets not forget that geese stick together, if you don't believe me you can gaggle it.

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 18:55:12 -0800

Geese might be a bit heavy, but on several occasions here on Lake Okanagan I've seen a bald eagle dive a flotilla of coots. The coots will go under the water, but the eagle will isolate one and continue to dive in small circular passes as the coot surfaces for air. It takes maybe eight to twelve passes, but the eagle eventually will wear him out and pick him up. It's fascinating to watch. I wouldn't have believed eagles would be so canny and persistent until I saw it. We have lots of ospreys here, also, but I've never seen them with anything other than fish.

By: tiamat

tiamat — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 19:02:12 -0800

I've seen two seagulls successfully rob a bald eagle, because it could only attack them when it dropped its fish, and it could only attack one of them at a time, so I'd guess a whole gaggle of geese could do much worse to one eagle.

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 19:11:16 -0800

No, the geese aren't going to attack the eagle. He's likely learned that he won't get one out of the water, so goes for smaller prey. Those seagulls likely got that fish from an eagle that robbed an osprey in similar fashion.

By: turbojav

turbojav — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 20:58:37 -0800

OK then how about sitting ducks? They are smaller. And an osprey can fligh into water at 70 mph.

By: turbojav

turbojav — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 21:00:15 -0800

Yes I have been menaced by a goose and was surpised at how big and scary it was.

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 21:16:01 -0800

Raptors have to be selective about the size of their prey. An osprey can be drowned by a large fish, if the bird's claws, under tension, will not release.

By: aladfar

aladfar — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 22:29:15 -0800

Geese are a little too big, as has been suggested already.

Pigeons, however, are another story. There's small population of Peregrine falcons here in Chicago - the best way to find them is to look for neatly sliced bits of pigeon on the sidewalk.

By: Gungho

Gungho — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 07:24:51 -0800

1. Geese are big, but more importantly they don't taste like fish. Animals have taste buds too.
2. Killing and butchering a goose is a lot of work. Would you like to kill and butcher a whole cow every time you're hungry?
Mother nature don't make no fools...

By: loiseau

loiseau — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 09:54:55 -0800

Canada geese are kind of like us Canadians: idyllic, natural, and benign, until you get in their face, at which point they will bite you.

Sort of.

Maybe.

I'm sorry if this offends anyone.

I'll just be over here sitting quietly.

By: Riemann

Riemann — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 12:26:53 -0800

There's quite a few bald eagles near where I grew up (more so in recent years). They are lazy buggers and would never take on a large target that can fight back (eg: a goose) unless they were starving.

By: oats

oats — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 16:47:57 -0800

Eponysterical, l'oiseau.