Meet our wild geese
Hello! I don’t know about you, but I love hearing the wild geese and seeing their flocks sailing through the air at this time of the year. So I thought it would be a nice opportunity to meet some of our wild (and not quite so wild) geese. Are you ready? Lets get started!
Barnacle goose
Barnacle geese can be identified by their black necks and white faces, and by the alternating blue-grey bars on their wings.
Brent goose
Brent geese are recognised by the large white patches beneath their tails and by the strip of white around their throats.
Canada goose
Canada geese are large with brown coloured wings and black necks with a white band around their cheeks.
White-fronted goose
White-fronted geese can be identified by the coloured ring around their eyes and the white mask above their beaks.
Greylag goose
Greylag geese are large, have broad orange beaks, pink legs, white undertails and are light brown in colour.
Egyptian goose
Egyptian geese are small and pale brown with a prominent brown eye path and a large white area on their wings.
What makes a goose, a goose?
Geese tend to be larger than ducks and smaller than swans. They often feed on land, but prefer to return to the safety of the water at night. They are also usually quite sociable and stay in constant contact with each other – hence their evocative calls as they fly.
Do all geese fly in Vs?
While we tend to envision all geese flying in a beautiful V shape as they fly, in fact, not all of them do.
- Barnacle geese fly in large, irregular packs.
- White-fronted geese and brent geese fly in either irregular packs or long, scattered lines.
- Bean geese, pink-footed geese, greylag geese and Canada geese are those which are most often seen flying in typical V formation. (You can find out why geese fly in V formations here).
Where do geese fly to in the winter?
Summary
Well, there we go! I hope you enjoyed this post and feel a little familiar with how to identify some of our wild geese when you see them. To be notified about new nature walk and nature study tutorials, you can subscribe to my blog by clicking the button below x
Subscribe here
Subscribe to My Nature Nook newsletter for new blog and tutorial updates
Next, check out these related links and resources:
