THE CANADA GOOSE
The Canada goose is perhaps the best known of the waterfowl in Merrymeeting Bay. Peak concentrations occur in the spring migration period from late February to mid-April and to a lesser extent during the fall migration from October through November. Some may pass at sea from Nova Scotia to Cape Cod.
Canada geese seek a habitat characterized by open water with sand and mud flats, marshes, and with upland grazing areas nearby. They usually nest on the ground near water, in a depression of leaves and grasses, most often sheltered by vegetation.
Their diet is largely vegetable including sprouting grain and grass marsh grasses, and aquatic or marine plants; but also includes ear worms, insects, larvae, crustaceans, and mollusks. Geese have been known to cause crop damaqe in farmland surrounding the Bay.
Canada geese are an abundant species. Their population has been controlled through hunting regulation and game management. (Many are bred in captivity and released.) Predators besides man include fox, skunk, weasels, hawks, and eagles.