General Biology Pairing may occur at one or two years of age, but few individuals will nest prior to three years of age. Pairs disperse widely during the spring in search of nesting sites. Islands, peninsulas and artificial nesting structures are preferred, but geese may also nest along shorelines,in abandoned raptor nests or on the tops of tree stumps. Nests are almost always near water. Nesting begins during late March or early April but the date may vary a week or two depending on spring temperatures.
Goslings leave the nest within a day or two but remain flightless for ten weeks.
Adult geese molt their primary flight feathers and become grounded during the latter portion of the brood-rearing period. Adult geese regain flight about the time goslings first begin to fly. During an average year, goslings are present and flightless during May through early July, and adult geese are flightless from mid-June through early July. Feeding is the predominant activity during the summer. Goslings require large amounts of high protein food to achieve rapid growth, and adults replace weight lost during breeding and molting.