Canada Geese are one of the most conspicuous waterfowl in Arizona, where they arrive each autumn in large numbers from Rocky Mountain and northern breeding grounds. Key wintering sites include Alamo Lake, Cibola National Wildlife Refuge and the reservoirs scattered throughout the Phoenix and Tucson valleys, where geese graze on turf, agricultural fields and marsh vegetation. In recent decades, non-migratory flocks—particularly the Moffitt’s Canada Goose subspecies—have become permanent residents in suburban parks, golf-course ponds and irrigation canals, nesting on small islands and shoreline ledges in spring. Whether flying in V-formations overhead or gliding across a city lake at dawn, Canada Geese are a familiar and often charismatic presence in Arizona’s winter skies.
