While waiting for the snow and ice to clear from the interior muskeg where they will nest, the early arriving geese fly back and forth between open spots along the rivers. They feed in snow-free areas on sedges and berries remaining from the previous autumn. Canada Geese are hardy birds. Having put on a layer of fat during the early stages of migration they are easily able to sit out extended periods of severe weather. The great muskeg, the goose's breeding grounds, is a country nearly impassable to humans on foot.
Geographers call it the Hudson Bay lowlands.
Largely a waterlogged plain, the great muskeg is 325,000 km in extent and lies only a little above sea level. Its surface varies from scattered stands of stunted spruce and tamarack to large bogs and pothole lakes. Because floating mats of sedges and grasses cover much of the water area its appearance is often deceptive, and a Cree travelling the muskeg must step carefully to avoid a sudden plunge hip deep in cold water. Not all of this lonely muskeg land of the north is attractive to pairs of nesting geese. They prefer close groups of pothole lakes with one or more small islands.