They seems to lay their eggs just about anywhere. I saw a nest right outside a busy restaurant the other day. I’ve seen one right outside a big department store at a mall.
Is there any reason they seem to not mind nesting right near a lot of people? This is NC and they stay here year round now.
Generally, they seem to be used to the urban environment. Anyting smaller than a medium dog knows not to tangle with them. They’re dangerous when annoyed and they mine the area all around themselves with big green turds. they eat grass, so urban enviroments with nice lawns are prime forage areas. If they’re near a ditch or a pond, bonus. If not, they’ll march a dozen goslings across a busy road to find one.(And people stop for them).
Fun fact, the little geesies either can’t tell one adult from another, or tag along with the ones that are the most fun. I see mixed and matched sets of different ages following a different parent each day or two. I heard of one roadblock that involved over 20 young ones following one pair of adults.
Only once did I see an adult actively chasing away a baby that obviously did not belong, but it persisted in sneaking into the group when the big one wasn’t looking.
I read once that the adults lose their flight feathers when they start the family, so once they pick a location, they’re kind of stuck with it until the new feathers grow in and they and the babies can fly.
There should be open season in the US on Canada geese.
Can’t stand them.
In the summer adult geese molt and cannot fly for several weeks until new feathers are grown. http://www.aitc.sk.ca/saskschools/animals/cg/cg8.html
I’ve seen them nesting in the most ridiculous places; the other day, I saw one brooding on a nest in a small planter, 15 feet from the entrance to a Kohl’s department store.
They’re a big problem in many areas, particularly any place with open water and short lawns (e.g., office parks, golf courses, etc.) Because they’ve found hospitable areas year-round, many of them are no longer migrating…and, yet, they’re still a species that’s protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which sharply limits what landowners can legally do about them.
you know why everyone thinks Canadians are polite? it’s because their geese took up all of the rudeness.
We use to have quite a few around the area. Seems like the Coyotes have made them move.
Yeah, we have a pair (the same pair maybe, I dunno) that nests/hatches goslings at our warehouse/truck yard every year. We have an empty field (for future expansion) with a drainage pond in one corner that has maybe a foot of water a couple of weeks in the spring.
Saw Mom and Dad with the young’uns out today standing at the back of a tractor/trailer sitting at the fuel pumps. Sort of cute, sort of amusing. Looked like they were giving a class, “Ok kids, this is commonly referred to as a semi. They are big and noisy and smelly, but they’re big pussies. You just ignore them completely, maybe give them a look and a hiss if they get too uppity, they’ll stop and wait for you. They know who their betters are, its genetic, part of the natural order.”
damn goose turds all over the damn lot!
Heard of a golf course that spent thousands on dogs to get rid of the geese but it did not work.
Slightly off topic but as long as we are talking geese here, is there a difference in the breeding times of geese dependent upon their geographic location? The geese at our pond (Charleston, SC) have had goslings for several weeks while somebody in NC reported that she saw them for the first time this year yesterday.
Basically a problem with the US inaccurately assessing numbers of non-migratory geese, which are covered under migratory bird treaty. I often feel no one should go hungry, between goose and pigeon! 
I’ve played several golf courses that successfully use dogs to reduce the number of gees (and amount of goose poop!)
was the restaurant ‘Elizabeth’s’?
I know of a time, 25 or so years ago, when, to protect an important reservoir, hundreds of canadian geese were herded into a box trailer during molting season, driven several hundred miles into Maine and dropped off in a suitable area.
Of course, as soon as the feathers regrew, they flew right back to the same reservoir in Massachusetts.
Like most invasive species, their predator species will eventually catch up with them and control their numbers.