This is not a project of NYSOA.   This information is provided for New York birders who may encounter marked geese.

As part of a population study on suburban Canada Geese in Rockland County I banded a total of 287 goslings in 2000 and 2001 with red, plastic leg bands with a three character alpha-numeric code. Each bird was also banded with a silver US Fish and Wildlife Service band. In 2001 ten adult females were also marked with a radio transmitter mounted with a backpack harness. The banding is being done to measure natal and breeding dispersal in order to delineate subpopulations and parameterize a metapopulation model I'm developing. So far I've received several reports of birds outside of Rockland County from as far away as Waterloo, NY and southern New Jersey. More goslings are scheduled to be banded with the red bands in May/June 2002 and 2003.

If you see a Canada Goose with a red tarsal band, you can assist the project by providing the following information:
- Location, please be as specific as possible.
- Date(s) and time(s)
- Breeding activity (courtship, nest, goslings etc.) - Very important
- Habitat and behavior (resting, feeding etc.)
- Rough count of other geese present

For more information about this study please visit:
http://web.gc.cuny.edu/eeb/students/usai.html

Please submit the your observation along with your name and contact information to:

Michael Usai
c/o Department of Ornithology
American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West at 79th Street
New York, New York 10024-5192
Phone: 914-773-4465

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