{"id":14474,"date":"2014-02-28T05:54:32","date_gmt":"2014-02-28T12:54:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=14474"},"modified":"2024-02-13T18:40:43","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T01:40:43","slug":"taking-a-gander-at-mating-canada-geese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/02\/28\/taking-a-gander-at-mating-canada-geese\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking a Gander at mating Canada Geese"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CanadaCanada Geese mating – Nikon D300, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Officially it isn’t spring yet but the\u00a0Canada Geese\u00a0here in the Salt Lake Valley don’t seem to be paying much attention to our human calendars at all and have begun their mating season. A few days ago at a pond near where I live I saw mating Canada Geese and Mallards and I was able to get images of the geese. Canada Geese may be common but I don’t like to pass on taking images of common birds. After all what is common for my location isn’t common at all in other parts of the world.<\/p>\n

The image above shows the gander mating with the female while he has a firm grasp on some of the feathers on the female’s neck.<\/p>\n

\"PairPair of Canada Geese after mating in a pond in northern Utah – Nikon D300, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The whole mating process only took a few seconds which is probably good for the female since she was completely submerged at times. In the image above there feathers are still ruffled where the male has grasped the female’s neck and the gander’s bill still has some of her feathers in it.<\/p>\n

\"CanadaCanada Goose gander\u00a0– Nikon D300, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The female Canada Goose bathed in a deeper section of the pond while the male paddled over to the shore, splashed for a bit then stood up and flapped his wings\u00a0near a Common Coot\u00a0that was preening on the edge of the pond. Yes, it sure looks like spring has sprung in this section of Utah.<\/p>\n

But winter isn’t quite over yet and like these Canada\u00a0Geese winter often ignores the human calendar and\u00a0there may still be more snow on the way before the warmth of spring settles into the valley.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to view more of my Canada Goose photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Officially it isn’t spring yet but the Canada Geese here in the Salt Lake Valley don’t seem to be paying much attention to our human calendars at all and have begun their mating season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":121122,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,28,709,26],"tags":[4004,32,4030,4346,4343,2476,713,4775,4363,4347,1984,3996,2063,373],"class_list":["post-14474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-canada-geese","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-branta-canadensis","tag-breeding","tag-breeding-behavior","tag-canada-goose","tag-copulation","tag-geese","tag-goose","tag-mating","tag-mating-behavior","tag-pond","tag-water","tag-waterfowl","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-geese-utah-mia-mcpherson-1033.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-3Ls","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":44888,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/02\/10\/canada-geese-on-willow-pond\/","url_meta":{"origin":14474,"position":0},"title":"Canada Geese on Willow Pond","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Because they are very common in most North America Canada Geese are often overlooked as subjects by some bird photographers.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Canada Goose and mate, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-geese-mia-mcpherson-3066.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-geese-mia-mcpherson-3066.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-geese-mia-mcpherson-3066.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-geese-mia-mcpherson-3066.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44479,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/01\/19\/feisty-canada-geese-threat-displays\/","url_meta":{"origin":14474,"position":1},"title":"Feisty Canada Geese Threat Displays","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 19, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"That morning the Canada Geese were the most lively of the subjects I photographed, bathing, mating and exhibiting threat displays.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Canada Goose exhibiting intense threat display, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-goose-aggressive-behavior-mia-mcpherson-5556.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-goose-aggressive-behavior-mia-mcpherson-5556.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-goose-aggressive-behavior-mia-mcpherson-5556.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-goose-aggressive-behavior-mia-mcpherson-5556.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4677,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/03\/25\/canada-goose-on-glovers-pond\/","url_meta":{"origin":14474,"position":2},"title":"Canada Goose on Glover’s Pond","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) are common in my area and I often overlook taking images of them because of that. I really shouldn't though because they are beautiful birds.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Canada Goose paddling by, Farmington Bay WMA, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-goose-mia-mcpherson-0094.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-goose-mia-mcpherson-0094.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-goose-mia-mcpherson-0094.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-goose-mia-mcpherson-0094.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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snowstorm, I treated myself to a few minutes of local bird photography, which included this ticked-off Canada Goose gander.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"One ticked off Canada Goose gander, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/canada-goose-gander-ticked-off-mia-mcpherson-6792.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/canada-goose-gander-ticked-off-mia-mcpherson-6792.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/canada-goose-gander-ticked-off-mia-mcpherson-6792.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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