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Tag Archives: Canada goose

308/365 Birds of St James’s Park

04 Monday Nov 2019

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Bahama pintail, birding, birding in London, birds in St James's Park London, birdwatching, Black swan, Canada goose, Coot, Egyptian Goose, Greylag goose, Moorhen, Ring-necked parakeet, Shelduck, St James's Park London, Tufted duck

I’ve just returned from three days with two friends in London. We were doing touristy things as our Australian friend hadn’t been to London before but I did manage some birding during our walk through St James’s Park. Though abundant and obviously breeding locally, most of these cannot really be classed as wild birds but they’re lovely just the same.

191104 st james park

The birds we saw included Mute swan and Black swan, Black-headed gull, Moorhen, Egyptian and Greylag and Canada goose, Feral pigeon, Shelduck and some species of white duck that I don’t recognise, Grey heron, Ring-necked parakeet, Bahama pintail, Tufted duck and more. Unfortunately, the resident Pelicans were hiding on their island so we saw them not.

191104 moorhen
191104 egyptian goose

191104 greylag
191104 shelduck

191104 heron white ducks191104 ring-necked parakeet

191104 bahama pintail
191104 black swan

191104 can goose coot191104 tufted duck

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A goose roost

21 Wednesday Nov 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Canada goose, goose roost, honking geese

181121 canada geese (1)

Have I gone from the sublime (yesterday’s Hen harrier) to the ridiculous (today’s Canada geese)? Maybe. But to me all birds are interesting so geese today it is!

181121 canada geese (2)

With their constant honking conversation, I could hear these birds before I saw them, sitting, standing, arguing with their neighbours, walking about, feeding on excess seeds from the farmer’s recent planting.

181121 canada geese (3)

A local birder recently reported 280 Canada geese on the lakes at Cosmeston, which is just a short distance as the goose flies from where these birds were resting at Lavernock, and by my reckoning there were over 200 in this field yesterday.

181121 canada geese (4)

I have walked this way on two consecutive mornings this week and have seen the geese both times but, even as I watched them, I doubted that the farmer would let them stay much longer.

181121 canada geese (5)

As I was leaving the area yesterday, I heard shooting, saw geese flying off in small groups and also saw large flocks of Woodpigeons and Jackdaws take to the air, so I assume the farmer is now actively chasing all potential seed-eaters off his fields.

181121 canada geese (6)

181121 canada geese (7)

Just a few Woodpigeons!

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Birding at Llandegfedd Reservoir

20 Thursday Sep 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, walks

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Barnacle goose, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Canada goose, Cormorant, Glamorgan Bird Club, Llandegfedd Reservoir, Wheatear, Yellow-legged gull

Knock-you-off-your-feet wind gusts, persistent rain showers, slippery-with-mud woodland trails, cross-country orienteering along steep-sided reservoir banks and through much-overgrown long-under-used footpaths … these all added to an adventurous and exhilarating day’s birding on yesterday’s Glamorgan Bird Club trip to Llandegfedd Reservoir, north of Newport.

180920 birding Llandegfedd (1)

The surrounding countryside is beautiful and the trail around the reservoir offers a good variety of different habitats, from woodland to wetland, for birds and other wildlife.

180920 birding Llandegfedd (2)

Some of our ten intrepid birders heading through the woodland, while the wind roared through the tree canopy overhead.

180920 birding Llandegfedd (3)

Looking back towards the dam you can see how low the water level is after this summer’s drought.

180920 birding Llandegfedd (4)

One of our frequent stops to check what birds we could spot along the water’s edge. In the foreground a congregation of Cormorants and Black-headed gulls, in the background some of the 300-plus Canada geese, all hunkered down in the face of the gale-force winds.

180920 birding Llandegfedd (5)

Can you spot the Wheatear that was dotting along the shore, prospecting for insects?

180920 birding Llandegfedd (6)

Alan spotted an adult Yellow-legged gull (centre right, above) amongst the Black-headed gulls, a good opportunity to point out its diagnostic features to those unfamiliar with this bird.

180920 birding Llandegfedd (7)

I don’t think I’d ever seen so many Canada geese in one place before. They sure can make a racket!

180920 birding Llandegfedd (8)

Even the geese were struggling with the wind gusts – here you can see them leaning into the wind as they waddle along.

180920 birding Llandegfedd (9)

And then someone spotted a Barnacle goose amongst all those Canadas and, though its origins were much debated – wild bird or escapee from a private estate or reserve? – seeing that lovely little Barnacle was the icing on the cake of a magnificent day for me, ’cause I sort of befriended the two Barnacle geese that used to be regulars at Roath Park when I lived in Cardiff. Seeing this bird was a nice reminder of those good times.

Full credit to the ten intrepid birders on yesterday’s trip as, despite the adverse weather conditions, we still managed to identify a very respectable 36 species. They were: Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Barnacle Goose, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Goosander, Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Cormorant, Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Peregrine Falcon, Coot, Ringed Plover, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Jay, Carrion Crow, Raven, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Swallow, Long-tailed Tit, Willow Warbler, Wren, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Blackbird, Robin, Northern Wheatear, and Pied Wagtail.

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Cuteness

14 Thursday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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Tags

#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Canada goose, Canada goose goslings, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, gosling, Moorhen, Moorhen chicks

Sometimes, when all the news seems to be full of doom and gloom, it’s nice to have something in our lives to make us smile. So, on day 14 of #30DaysWild, I went looking for cute babies ’cause they always make me smile – not human babies but baby birds. First, I found these three gorgeous little Canada goose goslings with their parents by the east lake at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park.

180614 Canada geese goslings (1)180614 Canada geese goslings (2)180614 Canada geese goslings (3)180614 Canada geese goslings (4)180614 Canada geese goslings (5)

And then, at the dipping pond, I spent a very enjoyable half hour watching the many Moorhen babies feeding, swimming, and preening. I hope they make you smile as well.

180614 Moorhen chicks (1)
180614 Moorhen chicks (2)
180614 Moorhen chicks (3)
180614 Moorhen chicks (4)

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Watching me, watching you

21 Thursday Dec 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Canada goose

171221 Canada goose

Watching me, watching you (ah-haa)
There is nothing you can do
Watching me, watching you (ah-haa)
You just have to face it, it’s time you flew
Waking up is never easy, I know, but you have to go
Watching me, watching you
It’s really time you flew.
(with apologies to Benny, Björn, Stig and Abba)

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Birding at RSPB Lodmoor

19 Thursday Oct 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Canada goose, Great white egret, Kingfisher, Lesser yellowlegs, Mediterranean gull, RSPB Lodmoor, Teal, Tringa flavipes

171019 RSPB Lodmoor

On the way to Portland Bird Observatory last Friday we called in at the RSPB’s Lodmoor Reserve, just outside of Weymouth, to see if we could catch a glimpse of one of their rare visitors, a Lesser yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes), a bird that’s usually more at home in the Americas. Our views weren’t super clear – my photos were taken through tall grasses and bramble – but it was great to see one of these occasional visitors to Europe.

171019 Lesser yellow-legs (1)
171019 Lesser yellow-legs (2)

As well as the Lesser yellowlegs (and the Gadwall I blogged about earlier in the week), there was an abundance of other birdlife.

171019 Various birds

Large numbers of Canada geese flew in while we walked the trails, and there were numerous Teal and Tufted ducks.

171019 Canada geese

171019 Teal

A few Mediterranean as well as the more common gull species …

171019 Assorted gulls (1)
171019 Assorted gulls (2)
171019 Assorted gulls (3)

Ruff, Snipe, Little and Great white egrets puddled about in the lagoons; a very confiding Kingfisher posed for photos; two Marsh harriers glided over the distant reed beds; and a Spoonbill was a nice, though distant sighting. I recorded over 30 species of birds at Lodmoor and that was without walking right around the reserve.

171019 Great white egret
171019 Kingfisher

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Nom, nom, nom

07 Tuesday Mar 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, plants

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, Branta canadensis, Canada goose, diet of Canada goose

Until a couple of days ago I had only ever seen the Canada goose (Branta canadensis) grazing the grass on farmland in Cheshire and around Roath Park Lake or guzzling the offerings of generous humans, so it had never really occurred to me to wonder about what else they might consume. Now I find they are quite partial to aquatic vegetation like pondweed, horsetail, bulrushes and various reeds. This particular bird was not fussy as to preparation – it was a simple case of rip, roll, rinse, ruminate, repeat.

170307-canada-goose-1170307-canada-goose-2170307-canada-goose-3170307-canada-goose-4170307-canada-goose-5

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Trouble and strife

18 Monday Jan 2016

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, nature photography

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

birding, birds, birdwatching, British birds, Canada goose

It may officially be called the Canada goose (Branta canadensis) but this bird should probably be called the Global goose as it seems to have made itself at home in many countries around the world. It was originally introduced to English parklands around 1665, specifically for King Charles II to add to his wildfowl collection in St James’s Park in London, but these birds have since gone forth and multiplied to such an extent that they are frequently considered a nuisance. As well as being aggressive pursuers of the bread so many people dispense freely in parks (watch out for nips!), they also have the digestive capacity to process three times as much grass as the average sheep and the more alarming ability to poop every four minutes!

160118 canada goose (1)

The Canada geese at my local lake can be as entertaining as any television soap opera. This morning another male tried to muscle in on this chap’s female so, firstly, he chased the other male away (love the tongue!), then he returned to honk sternly at his wife as if she had been the cause of the trouble (note her submissive posture), and then they both glared at the other male. What a hoot!

160118 canada goose (2)
160118 canada goose (3)
160118 canada goose (4)

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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