Day 59: Canada geese, with love unspoken, incubate unhatchable eggs silently in a stormy night!

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  • Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
  • The egg incubation time for Canada goose is 28 days. However, not every egg can be hatched due to unfertilization, abnormal embryo development etc. After the regular incubation time, what the parents will do to their unhatchable eggs?
    I followed Canada goose nesting in 2024 in Montreal Botanical Garden, Canada. I observed one pair starting incubation on March 26. As time enter the end of April, then the beginning of May, no egg was hatched. The loving pair seemed knowing this, since their expressions looked anxious and unhappy. However, they never gave up incubation. On Day 59 and 60 (May 22, and 23), they kept incubation in heavy rain at night! I was touched by their love to their kids (though dead already).
    On Day 61 (May 24) when I visited the nest, the eggs were gone. The eggs were most likely consumed by a red fox, since there were stool of fox at the nest site (I observed red fox ate unhatchable eggs of another Canada goose nest).
    From May 24 to early June, the pair looked sad, and they spent the night at a safe site close to pond water that is very close to their nest site. To spend a night at Montreal Botanical Garden is not very safe for Canada goose, because the water area is too small. Many other geese will fly to large water in St Laurance River for night due to security reason, only breeding pair spend night here. Now it is July, the molting season for Canada goose. There are 9 geese in Botanical Garden: this pair and another 3 breeding pairs, plus 1 young goose that was hatched last year.

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