In mid-June 2025, a bunch of Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo students joined forces with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) for the CT DEEP’s annual Canada Goose banding.
It’s during this time of year that geese go through their annual molt and replace their feathers, including their flight feathers. This means that for a short period of time, geese are unable to fly. This allows the CT DEEP scientists to wrangle the geese into small, temporary pens so that they can be sexed, banded, and released – all within a very short period of time. This valuable work allows scientists, like those in the CT DEEP, to understand population densities and migration patterns & habits of the geese, all towards the goal of improved understanding for conservation and management of this species.
By volunteering to help the CT DEEP, the Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo students learn how to hold a wild goose, how to sex them, and how to band a goose. Additionally, the extra hands are also a great help to the CT DEEP as the success of the wrangling process is even greater and faster with more people helping. The photos below tell this story.
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