Last week I encountered Canada geese twice. The first time was when a few migrating ones made a brief stop at a local marsh. The second time was at a suburban pond where the geese seem to be semi-permanent residents. I had a great time observing and photographing the geese in the latter venue and have a couple of photos this morning of geese dipping their heads into the water. I couldn’t tell for sure if they were grabbing for plants underwater, drinking, or doing something else. Often they would submerge just their heads and blow bubbles in the water and then, as in the second photo, just let the water dribble out of their mouths.
Synchronized swimming geese
Dripping, dipping goose
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Mike,
They actually are straining their food. They have little stiff – I don’t know what they’re called, but like a cross between teeth and bristles – things all around the edge of their bills. They scoop up mud from the bottom and squeeze out the water, retaining any promising potential food in their bills. Really slick, eh?
~Kyle
Thanks, Kyle, for solving the mystery for me. It’s often hard for me to figure out the reasons behind some of the behavior that I see in insects, birds, and animals, but there is usually a good justification. I guess that it takes a lot of observation and reading to learn about the traits of the individual creatures. That’s a challenge, of course, but it means that there is always something new to see and to learn.
Nice duet.
Looks like you were having fun too.