Canada geese
Larry and Connie Post, Consolidated Cooperative
Q. Hi Chip: We live in a gated community on a 250-acre lake, and have Canada geese on the lake year-round. Why do geese honk so much during the night and early morning hours?
A. Larry and Connie: Canada geese are very much used to living in a large flock with other geese. In fact, the only time they are apart from a flock is during the spring and early-summer breeding season when mated pairs separate themselves to nest and raise a brood of young. Pairs of geese usually mate for life, but if one member of a pair dies, the remaining bird will likely take another mate.
As you’ve already experienced, Canada geese are very vocal, their nearly constant honking serving as a form of communication with other members of the flock. At night, their honking may signal that a predator or other potential danger has been spotted. In early morning, the honking precedes the flock gathering and taking to the air in search of a food source, usually some type of grass such as on a large lawn or golf course, or possibly a harvested farm field.
