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Bird

Canada Goose

Branta canadensis

Lives in Louisiana all year and nests here. Found in all 64 parishes, across 14 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 64 parishes
Habitats
14

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 64 parishes
Habitats
14
Habitat models
Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Louisiana 14

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 14

Swamps

The Land of Evangeline
SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp; West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp; Mississippi River Bottomland DepressionJoseph Rusling Meeker, The Land of Evangeline (1874): moss-hung trees over a still bayou in Louisiana swamp forest. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Louisiana bayou country (Meeker, The Land of Evangeline, 1874)The Land of Evangeline, Joseph Rusling Meeker, 1874. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

SummerWinterUnconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune); Upper Texas Coast Beach; Louisiana Beach; Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal Wetland

Coastal Plain seepage bogs

Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog

Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)

Tidal marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts where the source does not say whether the water is fresh, brackish or salt. A stated salinity files the marsh under freshwater tidal marshes or salt and brackish marshes instead.

SummerWinter

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerWinter

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

SummerWinterMississippi River Riparian Forest; Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest; West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest; West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest; Red River Large Floodplain Forest; Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

SummerWinterTexas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.

SummerWinterOpen Water (Fresh)

Seeps and springs

Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall

Sounds, bays and tidal flats

Salt and brackish open water of sounds, bays and estuaries, with the mud and sand flats and seagrass beds that tides cover and uncover; the vegetated marsh is salt and brackish marshes.

SummerWinterOpen Water (Brackish/Salt)

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

SummerWinterOnly within 500 m of water.Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods

Prairies and grasslands

Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.

SummerWinterOnly within 500 m of water.West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie; Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

SummerWinterOnly within 500 m of water.Developed, Open Space; Cultivated Cropland; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Disturbed, Non-specific; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

Tree plantations and managed pine

Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.

SummerWinterOnly within 500 m of water.Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine
Other habitats in its models (87)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Louisiana. Those recorded in Louisiana first, the rest by region.

Elsewhere in the South (40)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural Lakeshore Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Sea Island Beach Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Beach Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Summer and winter.
  • Central and Upper Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Summer and winter.
  • Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Summer and winter.
  • Cumberland Riverscour Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie Summer and winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
  • Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator Hole Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian Summer and winter.
  • Southeast Florida Beach Winter.
  • Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Summer and winter.
  • Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Summer and winter.
  • Texas Coastal Bend Beach Winter.
  • Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Summer and winter.
Northeast (5)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Sandy Beach Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Sandy Beach Winter.
Midwest (5)
  • Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • Central Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • Great Lakes Dune Summer.
  • North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
Land cover and other classes (37)
  • Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall Summer and winter.
  • Barren Land Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
  • Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • Developed, Medium Intensity Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Summer and winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • Open Water (Aquaculture) Summer and winter.
  • Recently Burned Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • Recently Burned Forest Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • Recently Burned Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • Recently Logged Areas Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
  • South Texas Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Summer and winter.
  • Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
  • Unconsolidated Shore Summer and winter.
  • Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Depressional Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.

All habitats

Seasons in Louisiana

  • Year-round: nests here, in 6 of 64 parishes.
  • Winter: does not nest here, in all 64 parishes.

Food plants

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.

Native plants in these genera 153

Plant genera in its diet records (17)
  • Trifolium Leaves. 9 diet records. 4 native plants in Louisiana
  • Zea Seeds. 6 diet records. 0 native plants in Louisiana
  • Triticum Leaves and seeds. 5 diet records. 0 native plants in Louisiana
  • Medicago 4 diet records. 0 native plants in Louisiana
  • Glycine Seeds. 3 diet records. 0 native plants in Louisiana
  • Helianthus Seeds. 2 diet records. 16 native plants in Louisiana
  • Sorghum Seeds. 2 diet records. 0 native plants in Louisiana
  • Carex Leaves. 1 diet record. 84 native plants in Louisiana
  • Eleocharis Leaves. 1 diet record. 35 native plants in Louisiana
  • Equisetum Leaves. 1 diet record. 1 native plant in Louisiana
  • Phleum Leaves. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Louisiana
  • Plantago Roots. 1 diet record. 5 native plants in Louisiana
  • Poa Leaves. 1 diet record. 3 native plants in Louisiana
  • Setaria Seeds. 1 diet record. 3 native plants in Louisiana
  • Sparganium Leaves. 1 diet record. 1 native plant in Louisiana
  • Taraxacum Leaves. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Louisiana
  • Triglochin Roots. 1 diet record. 1 native plant in Louisiana

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Louisiana, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Canada Goose uses many habitats in Louisiana; these are its 3 most characteristic.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Birds 140

Plants 958

All of roadsides, fields and disturbed ground in Louisiana

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Birds 108

Plants 267

All of floodplain and bottomland forests in Louisiana

Swamps

Birds 119

Plants 237

All of swamps in Louisiana

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources