Begin forwarded message:
Dear Mr. Schmid,
The neckbanded Canada goose observed on the Miss. River (PJ19) was banded
five years ago just upriver at the Broadway Bridge area on 7/23/1998. The
bird--an adult breeding female--was trapped as part of a research on
aircraft-Canada goose collisions at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International
Airport. My records show that PJ19 was retrapped at Broadway and the band
inspected for cracks and neck for injures on July 11, 2001. None were found
and the bird was released.
Neckbands are used to measure goose movements and survival, and to the
identify individual birds in behavioral studies. Canada goose neckbands
were first used in the early 1960's after a period of captive testing and
redesign. Their use is authorized by the USFWS Bird Banding Laboratory.
To date neckbands have been placed on 100,000+ Canada including the
endangered Aleutian Canada goose. The published literature and our
observations of more than 7,000 neckbanded geese show no records of Canada
geese being choked or injured by neckbands of the PJ19 design.
The neckband observed may have appeared to be 5-inches long but could not
have been because PJ19 is a standard neckband of 2.5 inches length.
Neckbands when sealed are 1.25 inches inside-diameter and rigid. This
design permits the band to slide up and down the neck--but not over the
bird's head--and the free passage of food and water. The movement of the
rigid bands also removes mud and other debris that adheres to the inside of
the band. Studies comparing neckbanded goose behavior with non-banded geese
show a slight higher (2-3%) level of preening but otherwise no differences
in feeding, sleeping, or locomotion.
To the causal observer, neckbands may appear too tight at times but are not.
Geese have erectile neck feathers. When erected during aggressive posturing
or fighting, the feathers double the diameter of the neck. During cold
weather, the neck feathers may be erected to conserve heat, thus make the
neckband diameter appear too small compared to the neck diameter. Goose
necks also can show temporary bulges. Lacking a crop similar to chickens
and may other birds, geese have an elastic esophagus which enlarges when
they feed on dry grass or grain. After accumulating a mass of food, the
goose drinks and material is then soften and passed through the esophagus.
There are cases in the literature of geese dying from a impacted esophagus
as a result of feeding on dry soybeans but no similar instances have been
reported for neckbanded geese.
Thank you for your concern; please let me know if you have further
questions.
Jim Cooper
--
Dr. Jim Cooper
Professor Emeritus
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology
University of Minnesota
1980 Folwell Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55108
Voice: 612-624-1223 651-644-6206
Fax: 612-625-5299
Pager: 612-527-0323
on 1/8/03 2:10 PM, Robert Schmid at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Is this one of your geese? Could the tag have been misapplied?Begin forwarded message:From: "Schmiesing, Elizabeth H." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Wed Jan 8, 2003 1:51:25 PM US/Central
To: "'Caffeinate The World'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: "'[EMAIL PROTECTED]'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: RE: [Mpls] Choking Geese
I believe that the tagging is done by the University of Minnesota, by a
professor named Jim Cooper.
Betsy Schmiesing
Linden Hills
snip
I saw 22 geese at the Mississippi river bank behind the Federal Reserve
building today during lunch. One of the geese had what looked like a 5
inch long black tube with the label PJ19. The "tube" wasn't flexible so
when the geese bent down to drink, there was a sharp crease on its neck
at the top of the "tube". The crease was similar to a crease in a
filled garden hose when you snap the hose. Not only was the tube too
long, but it was too narrow. The geese looked like it was choking.
Which group would put such a label on the geese? There has to be a
better way to tag them.
Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn
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