Last week Mia and I enjoyed our first camping/photo trip of the season. We explored some remote areas of northern Utah and even found some interesting birds. But the incident I’m reporting on here still has me a bit perplexed.
As we approached a large cliff on our right we noticed a small flock of Canada Geese at the top and they were raising quite the ruckus – honking loudly, repeatedly landing on the cliff-top, flying around it and then landing on it again. We stopped and watched the hoopla for a few minutes but the light was bad and the angle steep for photography so very soon we moved on down the road.
On our return 42 minutes later the hubbub on the cliff was still going on – this is what we saw as we approached. The light was better now so we decided to pull over and see what might develop, even though the geese were far away. Notice how steeply the hillside rises to our left – that will soon come into play in this little mini-drama.
The geese were acting very aggressively at the cliff-top, often toward each other. In this series of three shots one bird chases another…
from the top of the cliff…
and down the front of it until I lost focus on the birds because of the cliff in the background.
Some of the time all six birds perched at the top of the cliff while apparently threatening each other and honking cacophonously but they repeatedly lifted off and flew around the area of the cliff. At first I assumed it was just a typical springtime disagreement among “birds of a feather”. But then, a surprise…
While we were watching the geese this adult Red-tailed Hawk landed on the steep hillside immediately to our left that I mentioned before. It hopped around a bit, apparently looking for something and then…
picked up a large branch and took off with it. I wish the bird were sharper in this shot but I wanted you to see it with the nesting material.
To my surprise the hawk flew the nesting material directly to the cliff and beneath the geese.
Here the hawk has just landed on the nest. I was amazed by how difficult it was to see this nest right in front of us. If the bird hadn’t flown to it we’d have never noticed it. To show you what I mean…
here’s the first image in this post, once again. This time I’ve marked the nest with a red arrow.
So, what was going on here? Were the geese simply having a squabble among themselves and their behavior unrelated to the close presence of the nest, with the hawk presumably returning to the nest again and again all morning with nesting material? Perhaps. But I do wonder…
This is the beginning of nesting season for Canada Geese around here and there’s nesting habitat nearby. Could the apparent aggression of the geese toward each other be misplaced aggression or a sign of frustration because they felt threatened by the presence of the hawk and nest but these heavy-bodied birds couldn’t really directly threaten the hawk at the nest on the vertical cliff face?
Obviously I don’t know the answer. But it does seem to me to be a bit of a coincidence to see this fuss from the geese, for such an extended period of time, with the nest so close to the site of the behavior.
Either way, it was fascinating to watch all this go down. And to photograph it.
Ron
Note: I never did see the hawk’s mate.
Just a small observation to add: I live in the Niagara Region of Canada each summer, and we had two red tailed hawks nesting this summer in the woods behind us. One day, I was walking along a path by a pond behind our home, and across the pond, saw a lone Canada goose. The hawks were circling – and the male dived down on the goose several times. Eventually, the goose waddled off to the edge of the pond and spent over an hour totally still in the marsh grasses. However, the next morning at dawn, I saw several turkey vultures circling over the spot where the goose had been.
Do red tailed hawks hunt Canada geese? I don’t know. I didn’t see the hawks actually kill the goose – maybe they were being a little ambitious? But something was clearly dead at that spot a few hours later.
My guess: one or more testy Canada gander was demonstrating seasonal dominance behavior, either within it’s family or maybe to another family that decided to occupy the same space. I think the industrious Red-tail was a spectator like you and Mia. Great cliff nest find and another wonderful photo sequence!
Oooooh! I love the pics!! Great series, thank you for sharing!!
It looks like the geese are staking out their territory amongst each other-the hawk isn’t an issue-yet.great shots -I like the wide view.
Now this is cool! The geese on the cliff is quite crazy. I’ve never seen this, and so I have no insights or ideas to what in the wild world is going on here. Sorry.
Well documented by the way! You’ve really become to develop a great narrative with each post. Something to aspire to.
Thanks Bryce. Coming from you, your comment about the narrative means a lot since I’ve always enjoyed your narratives (voice and text) so much.
I agree with coincidence. If I’m understanding the sequence correctly, had the Hawk felt the rucuss was concerning her (I say “her” judging from the size of the legs and feet) I’m of the opinion she would have taken a defensive stance. She’s not bothered enough to stop building her nest or show stress signs like ruffled feathers and an slightly opened beak. She seems to have the concern you mentioned, as to “where is that husband of mine????” “probably out soaring with the boys again”….:)
Thanks for sharing Ron!
Tim
You’re right, 48dodger – I never did see any signs of stress from the red-tail. It seemed to pay no attention to the geese as far as I could tell.
Hi Ron! Thank you for sharing this fascinating experience! Last year, one of the nest cams (Iowa? Ohio?) was on line while waiting for the Red-tails to return and set up house keeping. Everyone was surprised when a Canada Goose pair arrived and took claim. This was a platform high in a tree, seemed very strange place for a goose, but what do I know? The female started laying a clutch and covered the eggs carefully until it was complete. I was holding my breath to see what would happen when the Red-tails returned to find their nest full of someone else’s eggs. In this case, they never arrived. The geese incubated, chicks hatched, jumped way down to the ground, and were last seen swimming with their parents. I never would have dreamed that a goose would nest in a tree. Never would have thought that the two species might compete for a nest site. Afraid this doesn’t shed any light on your cliff side scene, though it might lead to more speculation. There are so many mysteries. We are blessed to share a world full of other species.
That’s a fascinating situation you’ve described, Mikal. Yes, “so many mysteries” – one of the many things that draws me to nature.
I, too, have spent a lot of time around Canada geese, watching their behavior. There is always some aggression going on in any flock, especially at this time of year. And, during mating season they are generally active and making noise 24 hours a day. The hawk may have been a factor in their behavior, but it could easily just be normal goose behavior.
I agree, Susan – this could have been either. Wish I could ask the geese…
I’m casting my vote for ‘coincidence.’ I have plenty of photographs of Canada Goose aggression. Territoriality and courting time really brings it out. No cliffs in my area, so no insight about that, except to think that if we did have cliffs, geese would be on them. All of our geese nest right on the ground.
One other note, the very nearby lake where I photograph has a large population of year round resident Canada Geese. It is also the staked out territory of a pair of wonderful Red-Tails. (And a nesting pair of Bald Eagles.) For the record, I’ve never seen these hawks — or eagles — interact with the geese in any way at all. Or vice versa.
Thanks for the info on your experiences with both species, Terry. Very helpful.
Fascinating story line! Perhaps the geese are just playing chicken to impress their mates! Ha! Thanks for the wonderful wake up story and more signs of spring.
Thanks, Tana. Yeah, the signs of spring are all around us but then there’s a day like yesterday – almost froze my patoot off on Antelope Island (windy, mostly cloudy and very cold).
Ron, I’m wth Charlotte, LOL. I don’t have your dedication for camping. But I sure am glad that you two do, and that you happened along on this fascinating story going on, and that you photographed it for us! I would have liked to have seen that go down!
We see some amazing things on our camping trips, Chris – certainly worth any inconvenience. We usually eat better than we do at home and the trailer has all the conveniences, despite being relatively small. I’m almost ashamed to admit that the biggest inconvenience is lack of cell phone coverage in many of the remote spots we visit. I don’t care much about the actual phone but hate being without internet…
I don’t have an answer, but I do know that Canada Geese sometimes nest in raven stick nests on cliffs in northern Alaska, even when it means the goslings will have a terrific drop when they fledge. Maybe a pair of geese was displaced from the nest by the hawk, and their complaints drew in some friends?
An interesting possibility, Nancy – one I hadn’t even considered.
Hi Ron, Being a person that hunts geese with a raptor, I was hoping to have some insight for you, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. My first thought was that you witnessed an amazing coincidence, but geese on top of a cliff? That doesn’t make sense…. the nest is down below on a cliff.
Perhaps the missing mate for the Red Tail is on top of the cliff?
Strange behavior indeed!
Thanks, Mark. If this confuses you, then I don’t mind so much being perplexed by it…
Really interesting behavior and shots Ron.
Isn’t it a bit cold for camping?
Charlotte
Not to worry, Charlotte. At my age, “camping” is trailer camping – soft bed and furnace included…
Whew! Even that seems a bit cold to me!
Birds generally know who their predators are and if not specifically, they certainly know the general appearance of what to be concerned with. My guess is that the geese are frustrated. You say there is geese nesting habitat in the immediate, or close to immediate area. To them this hawk represents a danger and they are setting up a hue and cry over this danger even though the danger is not immediately threatening them. Perceived danger in the wild is caution against real danger. Just my thoughts.
My thoughts are similar to yours, Dick. Wish I knew for sure though.
I hope that some other local bird buffs have seen something similar and have an answer for you. I would think misplaced aggression, but that is a guess. Is it usual for the mate to be gone for that long, or is that unusual too?
I’m not sure how unusual it is, Elephant’s Child. Perhaps the mate was out hunting. Or it was nearby and I just didn’t see it.