Expert: Roger Lederer - 3/21/2009

Question
QUESTION: Mama Canada goose is desperately looking for a nesting site here in our
Seattle marina.  She hatched 4 babies in a wicker chair on the dock last year,
but that's gone now.  She keeps trying to nest in our cat's litter box.  What a
mess!  She laid an egg 2 days ago out in the open on a walkway and never
came back to it.  We have put a box with towels in it on the back of our boat,
hoping she will try one more time to nest there.  We have moved the litter
box inside.  Papa is camped out on the railing of the boat next to us.  (He will
gently eat out of my hand!)  In case Mama abandons more eggs, I don't have
the ability or the time to try to incubate them.  I'm not trying to be harsh, but
can wild Canada geese eggs be eaten??  We really love this pair.  We're trying
to help them out, although we have to keep it quiet as the owner of the
marina hates the geese!  Last year, all the liveaboards on our dock kept the
location of Mama's nest a secret and quietly kept each other up to date on
her progress.  The goslings hatched on May 4th and, of course, were in the
water in 12 hours.  They all appeared to survive their early days!

ANSWER: OK; is your question "can we eat the eggs"? Two answers. One, it is illegal to take eggs from a wild birds nest, abandoned or not. Secondly, if she abandons the eggs after she has incubated them, they are probably in some state of decomposition. I wouldn't eat them.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for your answer.  I didn't realize it was illegal to eat the
eggs and that certainly isn't my focus!  I love these guys.  I did get some
add'l. info. that said she would lay one egg a day until the clutch was
complete and then start to incubate them.  So, she didn't really abandon the
egg.  In fact, she laid another one in the same spot about 30 minutes ago!  
So, we're going to let her use the box and try to keep her whereabouts safe.  
Again, thank you very much.  This is the first time I've done anything like
this, asking a question on the Internet.  You've really made an impression on
me.  We also have 2 pair of Mallards here, two different varieties of
Mergansers, cormorants, Great Blue Herons, Bald eagles and others.  What a
great time of year!

Answer
Yes, all birds and their feathers, nests, eggs, etc. are protected by federal law. And yes, geese and other waterfowl lay one egg a day and only start incubating them after they are all laid - otherwise they would hatch at different times and make parenting difficult.