The Extraordinary Intelligence and Memories of Canada Geese

A Canada goose never forgets a human face.

 

Much has been studied and documented about the extraordinary intelligence of crows.

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Much has also been written about Canada geese, but virtually nothing of their intelligence.

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On the contrary, most articles or informational pieces on geese decry them as "nuisance" or offer tips on hunting them.

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It is interesting to note today, an article from Ottawa, Canada mentioning both, geese and crows.

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Apparently, both species are thriving in numbers, according to Christmas bird counts.

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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/crow-canada-goose-xmas-count-1.3378201

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The article doesn't say, but it is this writer's conjecture that such ability to flourish in the face of the planet's sixth mass extinction has more to do with both species' remarkable intelligence, adaptability skills and memory than anything else.

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I personally cannot speak to the intelligence and memory of crows as I don't often see these birds during daily walks.

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But, I certainly see Canada geese.

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Despite unusually warm weather in New York City for the past two months -- so warm that many trees are budding and some plants are sprouting flowers -- Canada geese have migrated normally as they always do. They appear unfazed by fluctuations in weather or circumstance as in reality they are adaptable to nearly all kinds of extremes.

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Geese are also unfazed (though acutely aware) of Manhattan skyscrapers, noises and activities of the city and even helicopters and planes flying overhead.

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"Adaptability" could well be the middle name of Canada geese.

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"Memory" might be another.

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A couple of days ago, I wrote about the returning migratory geese, most of whom arrived on Christmas day to winter at the Reservoir in Central Park.

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Their arrival was in good keeping with the usual time, however their numbers (like the Christmas count above) appear to be larger.

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Despite a brutally cold winter last year lasting well into March, most of the geese not only survived, but apparently had a good spring breeding season. (I personally had been concerned about the impacts of the unusually long, icy winter on the geese's relatively short breeding season. But, apparently they figured way to adjust.)

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Though many water birds can be currently seen at the Reservoir, by far, the greatest numbers are observed in Canada geese and gulls (at least a couple hundred of each).

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And, not only are geese proficient in remembering their flight paths and wintering haunts, but they also have exceptional memory for people, faces and old habits.

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For example, geese migrating through New York City and stopping only at the Reservoir for rest are virtually never seen climbing along the jagged rocks that surround the water course.

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But, returning, wintering geese do.

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They obviously remember doing this last winter when water and ground was covered in ice, food was scarce and they had to briefly rely on the generosity of human handouts.

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They also remember which humans supported them during rough times.

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A number of geese have come directly to greet me over the past couple of nights, one of them being so bold as to beg treats from my hand.

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Geese know and remember well who their human friends are, even when not having seen them for a year or more.

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What is particularly mystifying is how geese can recognize a particular human face from amongst the thousands of people who walk or run the Reservoir path each day, while this human is not able to differentiate or identify any geese as individuals. It's a bit daunting to consider geese might actually be smarter in recognition and memory than we humans!

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I personally believe all of these observations (and more) over time speak to both, extraordinary intelligence in Canada geese as well as exceptional memory.

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Though you will read many articles demonizing geese and informational pieces reporting their "exploding numbers," you will rarely be informed of the reasons why geese are so proficient in survival and procreation.

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But, I believe if scientists or documentary producers ever take the time to study the questions of intelligence, adaptability and memory in geese, both they and the rest of us will be in for some startling surprises (as we have been with crows and other animals).  

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But, I personally won't be. -- PCA

                                                


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A Merry Little Christmas -- God Flows in the Hearts and Spirit of the Geese

Familiar and known Canada geese finally returning to Central Park Reservoir on the dawn of a foggy Christmas morning.

Splash Down!

As one goose keeps watchful alert, the others rest after tireless journey of many miles and days.

Taking off in flight at night, but not to depart this time, but to greet.

"Remember us?"

He may be 20-years-old, but Chance still has the heart and spirit of a puppy.

 

Another Christmas rolls around; one I was not looking forward to for numerous reasons.

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The reasons of course, are human.

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I don't come from a large and close knit family. Most of my family has either passed or is scattered around the country. I never had siblings and my one child is grown, married and living upstate.

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Fortunately, my daughter, Tara, visited last weekend and we were able to enjoy a joyous, full-filled three days together. Without those three days, I would likely have been a basket case yesterday.

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Christmas is usually a solitary holiday for me.

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No more acutely felt than this year.

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I lost (what was to me) an important friendship of 18 years, four months ago. It was a friendship I thought "forever"; it was an association I thought joined at the marrow.

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But I was apparently mistaken.

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The relationship didn't end with death or tragedy. Nor with some major disagreement or contentious blowout. Nor with some uncomfortable, excruciating conversation.

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It ended with an email announcing the relationship had "run its course" and that the gentleman had to focus on himself "in all contexts."

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Four months after the fact, I am no closer to understanding what happened or why than on the actual days of the sudden, unforeseen disengagement.

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There was never even a phone call.

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I have of course, tried to stoically accept what cannot be changed and "move on."

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Or, more accurately, I have simply distanced myself from feeling any emotion at all.

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There have been no tears or regrets. There has been no sentimentality or wishes to "go back." There have been no delusions or even thoughts of any kind of romanticism.

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It is as though the currents of my soul simply froze in place with seemingly no place to go.

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Hard, icy; a special kind of nothingness. I wondered what it would take to thaw and make flow again?

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It was all just one colossal mistake and multi-decade lapse in judgment. Emotion and bond are apparently very dangerous things.

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But, I realize now that mostly what I have been practicing is avoidance. Avoidance of having to think or feel or say anything. Frozen in place.

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Far better to think about what political candidates and pundits are saying or the latest Star Wars movie or who I forgot to mail a Christmas card to.

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But, somehow none of these things work too well on the dawn of a Christmas morning when one wakes up to the aloneness of the self without other human presence. It's like staring into a mirror and seeing nothing there.

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So, I turned on the TV to check if the earth was still circling the sun or, if like me, it was frozen in space.

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Apparently, the earth was still spinning and along with it, everything else.

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Endless images of happy, smiling families opening presents by the fireside or piously bowing in church somehow hit one with the hard hammer of human failure.

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But not to drown in a river of self-pity or self-loathing due to all too apparent human inadequacies, I decided instead to go to the Central Park Reservoir in hopes of perhaps seeing a goose or two.

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I didn't, however, expect to see any Canada geese at all.

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The migratory geese using the Reservoir as brief rest stopover in recent months, usually take off at night to continue their journeys south. Typically there are no geese at the Reservoir in the mornings as all have departed during the deep womb and safety of the night.

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With that in mind, it was great surprise when arriving to the Reservoir on Christmas morning and actually seeing some geese lazily swimming on the water as the sun began its sleepy ascent.

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A smile found its way reluctantly across my face.

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Not only were there geese on the water this peaceful Christmas morning, but many other water birds as well. They included many Gulls, Northern Shovelers, some mallards, grebes and for the first time in months, a couple of coots and even a cormorant!

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It seemed many birds were celebrating the hazy Christmas morning!  

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But, the best was yet to come.

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Suddenly in the distance, there was the unmistakable sound of joyous, excited -- and approaching goose honks!

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I turned my eyes to the north to note a very large skein of at least 40 to 50 geese making their way over the trees and through the dense fog and suddenly turning down towards the water.

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Splash down was fast, efficient and noisy as the geese finally landed like proficient water skiers in a glorious cacophony of loud honks and displaced, splashing water. 

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"Finally, finally!  We're HERE!"

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One could almost hear one gigantic sigh of relief.

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The geese could, at last, rest.

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It didn't take long for the geese to again organize themselves into their individual family groups and start to drift lazily on the water, barely moving so much a feather.

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Many tucked their heads into their backs to take a much needed nap. While one cannot know for certain, judging by the behavior of the clearly exhausted night fliers, they had been navigating skies and miles for many hours and even days.

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But, what was most significant about this particular sighting is that it marked the first time of the season of actually seeing geese arrive to the Reservoir as opposed to seeing them depart.

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Hunch told me that these are the late migrators who had finally arrived at the Reservoir to stay for the winter.

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How ironic that the geese (and many of their water bird pals) arrived on Christmas Day!

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As they have done so many times before, the geese somehow magically show up to raise the day at a point I am otherwise frozen and blue. -- It's almost as if the mysterious birds have some mystical powers or can somehow gaze into the souls -- and heartaches of their human kin.

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And so I came away yesterday morning, feeling very much alive and even hopeful again. Hell, if the geese can make it thousands of miles through rain, wind and fog, I can surely make it through a holiday!

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It didn't hurt later to hear from my daughter and son-in-law and to listen to the sounds of classical Christmas carols playing over the stereo. It was like warm feathers flittering across the heart. A hot toddy to the soul.

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And of course, I am fortunate to have my own animal companions. Though my five cats and one dog are (like me) getting on in years, their presence, needs and antics are the small comforts that keep the currents of life moving -- even when other things might not be flowing so well.

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Still, like the geese, I am somewhat a creature of the night.

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What better thing to do on Christmas night than to pack my very senior Pomeranian into his doggie stroller and head back to the Reservoir to check if in fact, the geese who arrived with the dawn on Christmas morning are the ones who actually stay? The ones known and familiar as NYC is their yearly, wintering home.

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Somehow, I knew the geese would still be there.

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With Chance in his stroller and curiously gazing out through the light rain, we made our way to the Reservoir to see scores of Canada geese peacefully gliding through the water under foggy and hazy moonlit sky.

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Despite the thousands of lovely, human-created displays over the Christmas season, this was by far, the most beautiful, most natural and most enchanting.

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Adding merriment to already bountiful scene, was chance meeting with other wildlife lovers. All of us took special delight in the wonders of nature before us.

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And though I had become accustomed to watching geese prepare for take-off in the evening hours at the Reservoir, it was clear these geese weren't going anywhere.

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On the contrary, in apparent recognition of my friend and me, a number of the geese actually took to flying in order to come and greet us.

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"Hey, remember us? We're back!  Good to see you again!"

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It was magical. It was serene. It indeed embodied the entire spirit of Christmas!  Our familiar wintering geese returning on Christmas day. 

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Later, I walked around the mile and a quarter Reservoir on this rain sprinkled night with my little dog in his stroller and gazed at the wistful forms flowing peacefully across the water.

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The geese were all in their designated family groups, most composed of six to a dozen geese.

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I could see no loners.

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I wondered to myself if things like, "throwing under the bus" and abandonment ever or even exist in the goose world?

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One is certainly aware of status and territorial disputes in the animal and goose worlds, but I personally never witnessed goose couples breaking up or a healthy goose abandoning his/her mate or family group. (Lone exception to that rule is a goose who is mortally injured or dying.)

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Bonding and loyalty are extremely powerful forces in the goose world -- even more powerful seemingly than actual and individual survival. I personally believe this to be exactly why Canada geese survive and thrive so successfully in a world where thousands of other species are otherwise facing peril and extinction.

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Loyalty, bond and organization. Few other species (including humans) exemplify these qualities more than do Canada geese. (One of the reasons I personally so admire and relate to them.)

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The rain began to fall a little more heavily as Chance and I finally exited the Reservoir and moved to a quaint and quiet pedestrian path. But, I felt the rain as cleansing and renewal. All was beautiful and heavenly this Christmas day and night and nothing could change that.

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I removed Chance from his stroller and he was happy to walk the rest of the way home with me. A little rain has never dampened Chance's spirits as advanced in age as he might be.

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Once home, I cooked up a simple dinner of spaghetti and mushroom sauce and shared it with my dog who has always been a big lover of pasta. I then pondered briefly, the remains of the day.

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Yes, Christmas was not a day I looked forward to this year.

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The ashes of major and failed human relationship, lack of worldly success and the prospect of still another "family" holiday alone made the day appear ominous and foreboding -- as if being pitched into some black hole or simply being "frozen" as the rest of the world spun madly around.

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But, in fact, everything was moving and freely flowing.

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And nowhere was that more evident yesterday than in the celebratory honks of the returning geese as they made their way through tireless journey, darkness of night and thick fog to splash down at the Reservoir with the dawn of Christmas morning.

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The new dawns await them and there is never time for tears and regrets.

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Indeed, God appears to flow in the hearts and the spirit of the geese as He does in all of nature and His creations.

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And for me, it was indeed, a very merry little Christmas, as I was never really alone.

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On the contrary, my cup runneth over in all of love's, family and nature's splendors and ever-present beauty and support . -- PCA

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The Intelligence and Language of Canada Geese

Migratory Canada geese leaving Central Park right after sunrise during October.

Quickly forming the "V" formation they are known for.

A small head, but don't let that deceive.

Nothing quite as exciting as hearing and seeing the geese take off and quickly disappear over trees and buildings.

But, in November, the geese changed flying patterns with most electing to organize and take off shortly after the sun sets and all is dark. (not conducive for photo-taking.)

 

In recent years, due mainly to amazing documentaries and studies on animals, scientists have learned that many species of animals are much more intelligent and capable of far greater and complex communications than previously thought. It has been learned for example, that elephants communicate in sounds and decibels not detectable to the human ear, dolphins have names for each other and crows are capable of using tools to get to food sources.

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I personally am not aware of specific intelligence and language studies conducted on Canada geese, but I speculate (somewhat confidently) that were such done, they would demonstrate Canada geese to be among the smartest and most communicative animals of our planet.

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Part of the reason for that conjecture is the resilience, adaptability and rebound capabilities of Canada geese. For a species tottering on the brink of near-extinction during the last century, Canada geese have rebounded extraordinarily over the past 40 to 50 years to the point they are now ubiquitous throughout North American and even other parts of the world.

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Moreover, despite thousands of other species facing peril and extinction due to human encroachment, over-hunting and environmental changes, Canada geese have managed to not just survive, but actually thrive and proliferate.

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Such seems to point to extraordinary intelligence and resilience in the face of great and challenging odds.

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Nevertheless, I am neither a scientist nor documentary producer.

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I am simply someone who enjoys watching geese and then recording those observations in a blog.

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For the past two months, I have been observing the migratory Canada geese who briefly stop by the Central Park Reservoir during their long journeys south.

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Though such are usually deemed "rest stops," they appear to be far more than just for rest alone.

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They also appear to represent opportunities for regrouping, reorganizing, strategic planning and even roll calls.

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During the month of October, it was typical to see the geese carefully organize themselves into various groups immediately following sunrise. (This was in preparation for take-off.)

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To the casual eye, such might appear random and inconsequential, but I don't think it was.

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The geese appeared to take a lot of time and care into separating themselves into their specific flocks and even more time determining when exactly, was the right time to take off. Often the entire process took a little more than an hour.

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But, one by one, all the gaggles would eventually take flight from the water -- usually in skeins of ten to twenty geese. All would exit the exact same, north east path out of the Reservoir (and Central Park) and head in an eastern direction towards Queens; far away from midtown Manhattan skyscrapers.

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November has seen some alteration in pattern with seemingly most of the migratory geese arriving at the Reservoir some time during the late afternoons and departing an hour after sunset.

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But, the painstaking organization and strategical planning has remained the same with often, loud and raucous "discussions" taking place beforehand.

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This past week, I was particularly struck by communications occurring among the geese all across the water and from one flock to the other.

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It was so animated as to make 70 to 80 geese sound like hundreds.

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Were they doing roll calls I wondered? Were they deciding how large flying skeins should be or specifically what paths to take? 

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Not only were the communications loud and excitable, but they were also extraordinarily complex with many variations in textures, pitch and tones. Some of the geese sounded like dogs barking; others sounded like coyotes or wolves howling. Still others sounded like children playing.

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(Ah, what I wouldn't have given to understand exactly what they were saying and communicating to each other!)

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Eventually however, all the geese took off from the water as expected. Only the other night, they left in two very large skeins of first, 30 geese and then about 40. (Unusual for the typical 10 to 20 geese that one sees flying in NYC.)  So was that what all the "discussion" was about? The apparent decision to fly in two large skeins, rather than the typical four to six?  Moreover, what was the reason for the change in flying pattern and behavior?

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I don't know of course. But, it's absolutely certain that there is much organizing, strategy planning and communications that occur before geese actually take off during migrations.

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Canada geese are not birds who fly randomly or for the sheer fun or adventure of it. Flying is very serious business for them. They are extremely purposeful and communicative before any and all flying pursuits.

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And sometimes the geese are secretive and very good at "hiding" their plans from us (dumb) humans.

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I am reminded of the geese who hatched and raised their three goslings at the Reservoir this past summer.

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Though I knew it was inevitable that Hansel and Greta would leave the Reservoir once their babies could fly, I was totally unprepared when they actually did in mid August.

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That was because I had never seen the babies even test their wings, let alone fly! 

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Apparently any testing or teaching to fly occurred out of the sights of human eyes (as has also been true of other goose families observed in the past).  One day they are there and the next day, the entire family is gone -- not to be seen again until the following spring! (And we as their observers never had a clue!)

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Goose hunting season has again occurred throughout most of the country this past month.

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I now wonder if this is the reason for the migratory geese to change their flying behavior pattern during November, electing now to do most of their flying at night? As noted, most of the take-offs during October were in early morning, whereas most of those in November have been at night.

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All those "discussions" are apparently not for nothing. Small wonder, "Outdoor" columnists often write about the difficulties inherit in Canada goose hunting and all the maneuvers necessary to try to shoot and "outsmart" them.

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Hunters are not going to agree with me on much of anything. But, I think few would argue with the contention that Canada geese are among the smartest, most intelligent and adaptable animals on the planet.

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Just spend a few hours listening to and observing Canada geese before they take off during their spring and fall migrations.

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Their language and communication skills might actually be every bit as nuanced, intricate and complex as our own.

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It would not surprise me to learn that Canada geese, like humans and dolphins, actually have names for each other.

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Certainly, each one has special identity, role and place in the flock. -- PCA

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