As the name suggests, Canada Geese come from North America where they breed in Canada and northern USA and winter in southern USA. There are eleven subspecies.

The Canada Goose was introduced to Britain about 250 years ago and the feral population now exceeds 50,000. They are now found in smaller numbers elsewhere in Europe and are still being introduced into Scandinavia by hunters. See the distribution map at Birdlife International.

Although they are normally migratory, feral populations tend to be sedentary. However, since the 1950s an increasing number of British birds have migrated to the Beauly Firth to moult. This occurs in June and July