[Tweeters] Odd Canadian Goose Behavior in the Sammamish Slough

[A Mackenzie]

I saw half a dozen Canada Geese a week ago doing backflips in the Montlake 
Cut (Seattle) -- they would flip onto their backs with their heads 
submerged and their feet flapping in the air for a second or two, then 
flip back up.  I found a video on YouTube by someone else (in the midwest) 
who recorded this behavior here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmNgoBhVsdc

The video shows exactly the same behavior I saw. My geese didn't do the 
diving/complete submersion that yours did, but it was certainly something 
I'd not see before and quite fun to watch.

-Alex MacKenzie
Seattle
alexam at uw.edu

On Mon, 5 Mar 2012, Keith Unterschute wrote:


> My wife and I were birding by kayak as we paddled up the Sammamish Slough

> out of Kenmore yesterday. Near the Bothell Landing we saw a flock of about

> 25 Canadian Geese flapping around in the water. Several of the geese were

> diving from a floating position into the slough and completing submerging

> themselves for 10 to 15 seconds. Others would turn over onto their backs and

> flap around. We had never seen Canadian Geese do this before. It was quite

> an amazing site. Keith and Nif

>