Mother Goose Nesting in a Penthouse
For the second year in a row, a Canada Goose is nesting 70 feet high in an eagle’s nest. This mother goose has already laid two eggs so far and you can watch all the action on the Explore.org webcam.
Normal geese do not nest in trees most likely due to the fact that once all the goslings hatch they must leave the nest that day. Having to jump 70 feet down presents some real challenges to goslings that normally hatch in an on-ground nest. Often geese pick a slightly elevated site like a muskrat mound but this goose really likes having a view.
Last year all five goslings jumped off the nest within 24 hours of hatching. They were hesitant, seemed to have a sense of the height which would not happen if the nest was on the ground. Eventually they all headed to the edge of the nest and tumbled their way down, bouncing off branches before hitting the ground. There were some human spotters on the scene who made sure the goslings found their parents when they landed and also recorded that three made the jump with one dying on impact and another caught up in the tree.
It will be interesting to see how this year’s nesting attempt goes. Birds never cease to amaze and having these convenient web cam views gives us insight into all sorts of behavior.
