{"id":44479,"date":"2017-01-19T06:03:50","date_gmt":"2017-01-19T13:03:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=44479"},"modified":"2024-02-14T06:58:20","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T13:58:20","slug":"feisty-canada-geese-threat-displays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/01\/19\/feisty-canada-geese-threat-displays\/","title":{"rendered":"Feisty Canada Geese Threat Displays"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ThreeThree Canada Geese exhibiting aggressive behavior – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 320, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Three days ago I photographed Common Mergansers, Northern Shovelers, a Muskrat, a couple of Mallards and Canada Geese at one of the ponds close to where I live. That morning the Canada Geese were the most lively of the subjects I photographed, bathing, mating and exhibiting threat displays.<\/p>\n

I was shooting from my tripod that morning instead of being inside a vehicle so I had far more range of movement than I do inside a vehicle but I was also exposed to the biting cold. The warmth of the winter sun shining on me did help some to keep me from being too cold.<\/p>\n

The cold didn’t bother the Canada Geese though as they flew in honking and splashing as they landed on the pond. For a bit they weren’t very active then two of them began bathing and then those two geese mated. I photographed those geese and hopefully I will find time to process those images soon to share. Not long after that several of the Canada Geese started to squabble and exhibited some of their threat display postures. It started out with bent neck and forward postures.<\/p>\n

\"CanadaCanada Goose threat display – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 320, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Then one of them started to chase the other geese with its wings raised slightly and its neck bent all the while calling loudly. I thought it might physically attack the goose that was in front of it just outside of the frame in this image.<\/p>\n

\"CanadaCanada Goose exhibiting intense threat display – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 320, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Then it turned back towards other geese that were behind it with its tongue stuck way out with its neck bent and pushed forward while keeping its head just barely touching the surface of the water.<\/p>\n

\"TwoTwo Canada Geese in threat display – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 320, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I was close enough to the action that when the second Canada Goose got closer to the one above that I couldn’t fit them both on my frame and I didn’t want to take the time to remove my teleconverter because I knew I would miss the action so I kept firing frame after frame.<\/p>\n

These geese got close to each other with their necks extended with their wings slightly raised over their stretched out bodies while calling and sticking their tongues out. I wish I spoke “goose” so I could understand exactly what type of communication was going on.<\/p>\n

\"CanadaCanada Geese threat display – Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 320, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

A third goose joined the two that were in threat display but it didn’t show any of the behaviors that the first two were exhibiting, it just watched them. Not long after this frame was taken the geese stopped calling, closed their bills, the threat display ended, and their postures changed. The geese floated away from each other like the interaction had never occurred.<\/p>\n

Birds sure do make life interesting.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

That morning the Canada Geese were the most lively of the subjects I photographed, bathing, mating and exhibiting threat displays.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":121203,"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":[3958,5613,32,4774,4343,5612,5611,713,4775,5614,1984,5610,5185],"class_list":["post-44479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-canada-geese","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-aggressive-posture","tag-bent-neck-posture","tag-branta-canadensis","tag-canada-geese","tag-canada-goose","tag-erect-posture","tag-forward-posture","tag-geese","tag-goose","tag-head-pumping-posture","tag-pond","tag-threat-displays","tag-tongue"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-goose-aggressive-behavior-mia-mcpherson-5556.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-bzp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":118542,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/11\/25\/canada-geese-in-falling-snow\/","url_meta":{"origin":44479,"position":0},"title":"Canada Geese In Falling Snow","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 25, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I desperately needed a bird break so I went down to my local pond. While I was there I photographed Canada Geese and American Coots in falling snow.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Canada Geese and American Coots in falling snow, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/canada-geese-snow-fall-mia-mcpherson-8595.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/canada-geese-snow-fall-mia-mcpherson-8595.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/canada-geese-snow-fall-mia-mcpherson-8595.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/canada-geese-snow-fall-mia-mcpherson-8595.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44067,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/12\/21\/canada-goose-lift-off-series-plus-more-photos-of-the-canada-x-snow-goose-hybrid\/","url_meta":{"origin":44479,"position":1},"title":"Canada Goose Lift Off Series Plus More Photos of the Canada x Snow Goose Hybrid","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning at my local pond I took a series of images of a Canada Goose lifting off plus more photos of the Canada x Snow Goose hybrid I found there.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Canada Goose taking off from a pond, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-goose-taking-off-mia-mcpherson-7259.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-taking-off-mia-mcpherson-7259.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-goose-taking-off-mia-mcpherson-7259.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-goose-taking-off-mia-mcpherson-7259.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14474,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/02\/28\/taking-a-gander-at-mating-canada-geese\/","url_meta":{"origin":44479,"position":2},"title":"Taking a Gander at mating Canada Geese","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pair of Canada Geese after mating in a pond in northern Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-geese-utah-mia-mcpherson-1033.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-utah-mia-mcpherson-1033.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-geese-utah-mia-mcpherson-1033.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/canada-geese-utah-mia-mcpherson-1033.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":119620,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/01\/12\/canada-goose-on-the-wing\/","url_meta":{"origin":44479,"position":3},"title":"Canada Goose On The Wing","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 12, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"There was a break in the gray clouds yesterday before noon, so I drove down to my local pond. While I was there, I photographed this Canada Goose on the wing.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Calling Canada Goose in flight, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/canada-goose-flight-pond-mia-mcpherson-1322.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/canada-goose-flight-pond-mia-mcpherson-1322.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/canada-goose-flight-pond-mia-mcpherson-1322.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/canada-goose-flight-pond-mia-mcpherson-1322.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":123586,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/11\/canada-geese-honking-match\/","url_meta":{"origin":44479,"position":4},"title":"Canada Geese Honking Match","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 11, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This pair of Canada Geese looked to me like they were having a \"honking match\" when I photographed them in 2018 at a local pond during the winter.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Close up Canada Geese honking match, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/canada-geese-winter-close-up-mia-mcpherson-6728.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/canada-geese-winter-close-up-mia-mcpherson-6728.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/canada-geese-winter-close-up-mia-mcpherson-6728.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/canada-geese-winter-close-up-mia-mcpherson-6728.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":96929,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/11\/04\/three-canada-geese-on-an-autumn-morning\/","url_meta":{"origin":44479,"position":5},"title":"Three Canada Geese On An Autumn Morning","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 4, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week I photographed three Canada Geese lifting off from Glover Pond at Farmington Bay and it brought memories from November of 2008.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Three Canada Geese flying away from Glover Pond, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/canada-geese-glover-pond-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-2045.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/canada-geese-glover-pond-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-2045.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/canada-geese-glover-pond-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-2045.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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