Goose Nest Saga

GOOSE NEST STORY
April 12, 2021
Clive Schaupmeyer
Commencing at 3:06 PM on the afternoon of April 12, 2021, I witnessed a strange event mainly between two female Canada geese. The last of many videos taken started at 3:25 PM. This happened on a nesting island on the ponds on north Coaldale.
Please understand we will never know what actually happened and why some others things did or did not occur. I believe the general conclusions are sound.
Synopsis of what I saw
• At 3:06 PM, goose (B) was standing over a goose (A) sitting on a nest.
• The standing goose (B) was pecking aggressively on the back of the neck of the sitting goose (A).
• Sometimes the standing goose would pluck at A’s back feathers.
• Goose A offered no resistance at all and never retaliated—in fact she seemed submissive as shown in the video.
• Goose A turned its rear in my direction (fortunately), an egg crowned and in a few seconds the egg popped out onto the ground.
• Eventually goose B drove goose A away from the nest.
• Goose A was then assailed by a third goose in the background—most odd. (The male partner of B?)
• Goose B preened her brood patch (breast feathers), fussed around the nest for a while (including rolling two eggs already in the nest [hers?]) and then settled down on the nest.
• After a couple of minutes, goose B then got up and rolled the newly laid egg (not hers) into the nest and finally settled down again on the nest.

We do not know
• Why the trespassing female hijacked the nest in the first place—assuming she attempted to take it as her own.
• How was goose A able to take over the nest in the presence of what presumably is the true nest owner (goose B)?
• Why did the male partner of goose B not intervene? The males fight wildly when another male gets close to their nest.
• When the offending female (A) was driven off the nest, why did a third goose peck at her? Was it goose B’s male partner or another unrelated goose?
• Female goose B is for absolute certain the female that finally adopted the newly laid egg and settled back on the nest that already had at least two other eggs. The left cheek patch on goose B as she was assailing goose A is identical to the cheek patch on goose B when she finally settled on the nest—no question.
• It is possible that the trespassing female (A) was a novice egg layer and not attached to a male partner. She might have mated with a male one or two weeks ago (they can retain viable sperm for a few weeks) and impregnated herself while unattached and nestless. Who knows? CAS/4/21