Canada geese are amazingly well-adapted for surviving our winters – provided they can find the open waters that they require for protection from predators, for preening to keep plumage clean for maximum insulation, for feeding in the shallows on underwater vegetation, and because, as cold as it might be, open water is warmer than bitter cold air.
Open water is at a premium these days, but it still can be found along the lake and bay at power plant discharges, for example, and in a few places along our waterways. One of those places is in the Maumee River at Side Cut Metropark where moving water, combined with geese movements, keep small areas open even in the deepest of winter. Find an open patch and watch geese working together, constantly moving in circles to keep the surface water from forming ice.
