Facts about Canada Geese

• Branta canadensis maximus (Giant Canada Goose) is the most visible urban goose. It weighs around 7-10 lbs and has a wingspan of 6’
• Canada geese are federally protected – if you shoot them without a permit, hit them with a croquet mallet, or chip them with a Cleveland wedge, you may be clapped in irons and sent to Kandahar
• There are two types of Canada geese – migratory and resident. They look the same, walk the same, talk the same
• Migratory Canada geese fly to the Arctic in spring to nest returning south in October/November for the winter
• Resident Canada geese stay year-round within twenty miles of their nesting sites in the lower 48 states
• Population trends show the number of migratory geese is declining
• Resident geese numbers are increasing by 15% each year

Not much with the "real" Canada goose - the one who goes back to Canada every spring that is. It's the 3.5 million to perhaps 5 million illegal aliens - 'resident birds' - that have outstayed their six-month tourist visas that really tick people off! The average Canada goose eats 3 lbs of grass every day. An avian vandal, it can damage 5 square feet of turf in 24 hours.