Canadian geese

[3wood]

Monday I was outside in my yard planting some Carolina jasmine when I heard a flock of Canadian geese flying overhead. I ran inside and got my binoculars to watch them while in range. I was thinking what an absolutely beautiful majestic bird they are.. In about 15 min. I heard that sound again but this time much louder. It was a group circling at a low altitude to either land in a neighbors small lake or wait for stragglers to form up. As I was getting a good look thru my binoculars when a shot rang out and One of these beautiful birds journey ended in Whitney Texas. I let out a loud nooooo ! And promptly called the Game Warden.
To their credit was on the scene in less than 15 min. He spent the next 90 min. At the perpetrators property and then returned with the tagged bird and thanked me for the call.Evidently federally protected birds taken out of season can carry very stiff penalties.

[jeffwilliams72]

Good for you!!! I am glad you got the poacher busted, I hope they throw the book at him.
Idiots like that, give ethical hunters a bad name.
Canada Geese are beautiful, majestic, and delicious. I truly enjoy them year-round, not just during hunting season.

[flyin-lowe]

Poaching is a bad thing and you did a good thing calling the game warden.

I am not sure what the populations are like where you are at but the Canadian goose population here in Indiana has gotten out of control. I remember as a child it was a big deal to see flocks of them flying over during migration because they were rare. Now they don't migrate, they stay here year round and are ruining properties all over the place. I live next to a State Park and we no longer use the shelter houses like we used to because there are droppings everywhere. The beach is covered and the grounds are completely covered in waste. Indiana now allows you to get a license so you can destroy their eggs but I have not researched it. If I had a pond or water on my property I would consider it because they are way over populated around here. I have seen them cause traffic problems as sometimes in the mornings there will be flocks of them moving onto a highway and people stop to avoid hitting them and then there is traffic crashes due to the backup.

[Mitch Booth]

Most of the residents here in the Portage Lakes area of Ohio get permits to shake the eggs. Many of the pond owners in the area also do the same. I have yet to experience fighting the geese off but once we take possession of our new home which has an active T-14 and an 1 1/2 acre pond on it I have a feeling I will be doing the same. All the added nutrients from their feces cause extreme algae in the ponds not to mention having to walk all around it. Once they lay eggs they are next to impossible to remove from your property.

Mitch

[3wood]

I have sympathy for the communities that have geese the entire year. I play golf and have read where they have completely taken over a golf courses in other parts of the country. In my part of Texas we're strictly a fly over I've never seen one on the ground. The game warden did say they're considered the t bones of the sky and the best tasting bird we have.

[jeffwilliams72]

In these parts, we call it "ribeye in the sky"

[MB12RING]

"sky carp" is what they go by around here, yuk!

[jeffwilliams72]

Sky carp??? Do you call them that because they are common? If you call them that by the way they taste, you don't know how to cook 'em.

[MB12RING]

LOL, because of the taste.
Your probably right about my goose cooking ability but I'll take a real ribeye over the ribeye of the sky anyday!
I like them made into bratwurst or hot sticks though

[jeffwilliams72]

I marinate them, with my "secret blend" then sear them on a super-hot grill,finish them in the smoker. It is absolutely delicious and once sliced it looks exactly like roast beef and IMO tastes better.
I also do BBQ and jerky with them that is awesome.
I do realize though, like any wild game, if it is not handled or prepared properly it can end up not so good.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Jeff, I agree totally with you. ALL wild game should be handled correctly and cooked correctly and it will taste very good.

For instance, if I shoot a deer, I take it to the camp immediately, skin it and put the meat on ice within 1 hour. We put some salt on it and let it stay on crushed ice for a couple days. Then its cut up and frozen. The meat tastes very good, does not have any odor, and is the most healthy meat that you can expect to get.

I wish that I could get a few wild geese, they must be delicious.

[jeffwilliams72]

Yeah Emil, how many guys have you seen driving around with a buck in their truck, showing it off, with no regard for getting it skinned and cooled?
Luckily, my uncle that taught me to deer hunt, was a butcher and also taught me the more important task of game handling.
You should give goose hunting a try, it is fun, and they can be delicious!

[Chriscreole]

We have a mated pair of African Geese here at Old Settlers park Round Rock Texas, I took these pictures last month, thought they were really great looking Geese

[jeffwilliams72]

Those are cool-looking geese, I like the knob above the bill.

[Tim Stover]

some of the best watchdogs they are around martin colonies we had three pair last year they already fighting here over nest sites

[Carlton]

As I understand it there are two "races" of the Canadian Goose. One is a smaller species that migrates each spring to northern Canada and returns in October.

The other one is a larger bird and it does not migrate. It stays around year round and is usually the one that overpopulates golf courses, community lakes and such. Humans introduced the more undesirable species to the eastern states when the migrating species numbers fell due to overhunting and such.
Their numbers have mushroomed while the migrating species numbers still remain relatively low.

Please correct me if I am mistaken.

Carl

[Paul Stein]

Jeff, I am glad you like them. All the canadian we cook taste like fishy rubber! We do a lot of hunting and deer, turkey, quail etc and never met a wild game animal I could not enjoy- except c.geese, snows and speck are better but I just have never had anyway to soak, maranate or anything that helped. Like I said I am sure you have found a way to cook them that makes them great and that is wonderful. I just had to put in my 2 cents worth because I was telling a freind about this post just yesterday and we were joking about it.They are a nusance around here but I don't kill them any more cause if I can't use it I'm not gonna kill it. Except starlings and sparrows that is!!!

[Annie G]

Paul, try this recipe for goose. Take the breast meat of a goose cut into 1 or 2 inch pieces, put in ziplock bag with Zesty Italian dressing and let it marinate overnight in the fridge. The next day wrap each piece of breast meat with a half slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Cook on the grill. Do not overcook! Thats when it becomes rubbery. We call them goose balls.
This is the way our son cooks it for us. Annie

[MB12RING]

Jeff & Paul
Here is a pic you guys might enjoy since we obviously have some of the same interests. Its alot more impressive when its not cropped way down. I would have to agree that spec's and snow's are better tasting but there must be ways to cook Canada's and make them pretty tasty.

There was a sweet little old lady who let me goose hunt her farm and whenever I gave her geese she gave me a homemade apple pie! How's that for a trade?

Sorry for hi-jacking the thread with hunting and cooking talk.

[Craig Dyer]

I read somewhere that geese are used in Western Europe to guard American Military Installations. Geese were also used by ancient Romans as guards.