Anyone who owns waterfowl likely knows about their hobby of digging. As to why geese do it I am not completely certain but my assumption is that they are doing it for two reasons. One of those reasons is because it is simply fun to do so. Geese often do things that seem quite enjoyable to them but also offers them food. Such as pecking at tree bark or digging up grass so that they can get the roots.

So while they are digging a hole that might eventually hold some water which is very practical in itself they may also be finding things. The likeliest thing that they are finding are bugs. 

If where they are digging is very moist such as around a pool or around their water bucket they can make pretty sizable holes. If they see a puddle of water they are often attracted to it to dig it even larger. They really enjoy getting mud all over themselves and destroying the ground! 

They also seem rather persistent in digging holes along the edges of buildings. On the inside it makes sense because they want to get out of the building as geese do not enjoy being trapped in a building but they have dug along the outside of the building. Perhaps they want to get in? Sometimes their favorite nesting place is taken from them. But I believe that is not always the case and they still dig alongside the outside part of the building even if they have access to their nesting spot. Maybe they know that I do not want them to dig there. I suppose if once they start digging somewhere they like to continue their work there. 

As aforementioned, I am not certain about why they dig. Usually it seems like it is simply for enjoyment.

​My geese since they are in the woods will dig in the leaf litter and eat plenty of things, usually the leaf litter, but perhaps other things are being eaten by them? But while working for that food they are certainly enjoying it!

Oftentimes a fluffy gosling will look up at me with adorable eyes. I have seen the adults sometimes look at me. I never really thought about why they would be doing this and I am still not all that certain. I assume they are saying the same thing they would say to another goose if they looked at them with their adorable eyes. At one point when I was watching my geese I got to see something quite cool that expressed that geese are doing much more than charging and screaming.

Redbud who is currently the leader of the flock was standing by the water container overseeing the ladies when Boxelder, a small and - I will be honest - annoying gander came over. Redbud simply made eye contact with Boxelder and Boxelder thought better of approaching. 

I assume that a lot of that happens and I simply do not notice it. I need to keep an eye on that and see what other instances of eye contact occur and how geese typically use it. 

I believe that when they vibrate their heads they are also perhaps employing the use of eye contact as well to tell the other goose things. It may be that the eyes decide who will be walking away from whatever the two have had a disagreement about.

My geese often make eye contact with me especially Redbud who is shown in the picture above. I believe that this can be employed in friendly means or simply to assess the individual and see what they are thinking and what they are up to. It seems to be rather important in goose communication now that I have come to think about it. They often will look at me and they do not seem to always be trying to tell me the same things. Some seem to make eye contact when they are requesting food, others when they want to see if it is safe to come and eat my clothes, and perhaps as a part of ganders courting geese. And of course, as a challenge.

I have much more to learn! And perhaps on a sunny day I will sit down with a notebook and see what behaviors my geese show me.