Photos: A real wild goose chase
Biologists and volunteers release dozens of Canada geese after capturing and banding the birds at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on Tuesday, June 12, 2018. Over the span of three weeks, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources plans to band 3,000-4,000 Canada geese. The project helps biologists track geese migration.
Rich Hansen shows his son Sawyer Hansen, 4, a leg band on a Canada goose at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on Tuesday, June 12, 2018.
Rich Hansen, top, gives directions to crews of biologists and volunteers before leaving to catch Canada geese at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on Tuesday, June 12, 2018.
Xaela Walden and Tom Smart lean off the front of the boat with arms outstretched as they chase a Canada goose at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on Tuesday, June 12, 2018. More than 600 geese were captured on the refuge and hundreds more were captured at different spots around Northern Utah throughout that week.
Xaela Walden loads a Canada goose into a crate after leaning off the front of an airboat and scooping the bird out of the water at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on Tuesday, June 12, 2018. Canada geese are temporarily flightless after molting in early summer.
Biologists and volunteers release dozens of Canada geese after capturing and banding the birds at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on Tuesday, June 12, 2018. Over the span of three weeks, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources plans to band 3,000-4,000 Canada geese. The project helps biologists track geese migration.
Xaela Walden and Tom Smart lean off the front of the boat with arms outstretched as they chase a Canada goose at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on Tuesday, June 12, 2018. More than 600 geese were captured on the refuge and hundreds more were captured at different spots around Northern Utah throughout that week.
Xaela Walden loads a Canada goose into a crate after leaning off the front of an airboat and scooping the bird out of the water at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on Tuesday, June 12, 2018. Canada geese are temporarily flightless after molting in early summer.
On a warm spring morning, dozens of biologists and volunteers piled onto boats at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge to head out on a wild goose chase.
Literally.
For three weeks, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources captured thousands of Canada geese around the state. Biologists attach leg bands to the birds and release them again as part of a program to measure geese migration and better manage hunting seasons.
In order to capture the birds, crews set out in small groups on airboats in the shallow impoundment ponds on the refuge. During May and June, Canada geese molt and are unable to fly while growing new feathers.
As one person pilots the airboats toward the flightless birds, two more people lie on their stomachs and hang off the front of the boat, where they scoop up geese while on the move.
During the day at Bear River, more than 600 geese were captured and banded through this waterfowl rodeo.
“The reason that we band geese is to determine mortality rates and survival rates,” said Rich Hansen, who manages the capture operation.
Anytime a hunter shoots a goose with a leg band, they can record their location into an online database. From this, scientists get a better idea of where geese move throughout their lives and how long they live.
Despite their name, only a few of the Canada geese in Utah end up in Canada. Many of them head south to California or Arizona, while 8,000 to 12,000 will stay in Utah year-round, according to Hansen.