Why do some Canada goose parents have 50 goslings?
When we first became interested in Canada geese, we wondered about that, too. We saw parents with fifteen or more goslings. Once, we lost count when we got to about fifty! Canada geese parents bring their goslings together in flocks known as “creches” and the goslings are communally looked after by all the adults. It’s like a big kindergarten with the adults sharing the babysitting duties. They do this because the goslings will be safer; there will be more adults looking out for danger for the entire flock. In Ducks, Geese, and Swans of North America, Sherwood (1965) reported that mixing of broods (known as brood amalgamation) occurred because at first, neither the parents nor the goslings could recognize each other. When the young were 2-3 weeks old, the parents could recognize them and brood mixing halted. According to Sherwood, goslings were unable to recognize their parents or broodmates before they were 5-6 weeks of age. We have been observing geese closely for the last three year
