Habitat
Typically breeds within 15 km of the coast on the Y-K Delta on flat tidally influenced salt marsh habitats. This area is characterized by tidal rivers and sloughs, as well as brackish and freshwater ponds and lakes with halophytic plants and graminoid meadows (Petersen et al. 1994). Also nests on shore (e.g., among driftwood) or on low coastal or estuarine islands (Harrison 1978). Nests on high ground in areas subject to flooding. Typical brood rearing areas in Alaska (Kokechik River area): insides of bends of major sloughs and rivers that supported stands of Carex rariflora (Eisenhauer and Kirkpatrick 1977).
References
Eisenhauer, D. I., and C. M. Kirkpatrick. 1977. Ecology of the emperor goose in Alaska. Wildl. Monogr. No. 57:1-62.
Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
Petersen, M. R., J. A. Schmutz, and R. F. Rockwell. 1994. Emperor Goose (Chen canagica). In The Birds of North America, Vol. 3, No. 97 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists’ Union.
