When I was 14, I was in the Boy Scouts in Maryland, and to raise money we were tasked with selling light bulbs door to door. (Seemed a very strange thing to sell then, but now, seems eminently sensible!)
Another Scout and I approached a farm, and as we entered the yard and walked up to the door, a goose appeared and stood defiantly in between us and the door, perhaps 20 yards away.
The other Scout would not go up to the door and said “I’m not going up there...those things are worse than a mean dog!” I said “Geez, it’s only a darned goose!” and marched forward.
The goose immediately began walking towards me, and I paused. There was something in its demeanor that gave me that pause.
But instead of stopping when I stopped, it began to walk faster towards me, then when it got to about 5 yards away, it spread its wings, extended its head and neck until they were parallel to the ground, and opened its mouth in a wide vee.
And then, as if that wasn’t quite unnerving on its own, it let out this hissing sound, and accelerated into a run directly at me!
I turned tail and ran, and that thing bit me so hard on the calf that it raised a blood blister!
(I am laughing to myself as I remember this!)
It gave up the chase when I exited the yard, and the other Scout looked at me with wide eyes and said “See? I told you so!” as I examined the back of my leg!
For the rest of my life, I have had a healthy respect for geese! My wife and I were walking on a trail one day near a lake and came across a Canadian Goose in the middle of the trail that stood there in that same defiant way I had seen that other goose do, almost as if it was saying: “I ain’t moving. You come any closer...”
Needless to say, I said “Nope. Let’s find another trail...”
Many geese do have one hell of a mean streak but wild geese dont have the physical capabilities of domestc geese. Youre lucky you met that one, there is a strain of giant dewlap toulouse that Ive raised that can actually nip little plugs out.