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Tag Archives: goslings

Goslings

06 Sunday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in spring, trees

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Tags

Goat willow, goslings, Grey willow, male willow catkins, Pussy willow, Salix caprea, Salix cinerea, willow catkins

One of the sure signs of Spring for me is the appearance of the ‘goslings’, and by that I don’t mean birds, but rather the gorgeous male catkins of the Goat willow (Salix caprea) and Grey willow (Salix cinerea). You probably know them as pussy willow but, according to my Flora Britannica, ‘they used to be called “goslings” … because their texture and colour were like newly hatched geese’.

220306 pussy willow (1)
220306 pussy willow (2)

220306 pussy willow (3)

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Bundles of fluff

05 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, spring

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Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, bundles of fluff, goslings, Greylag, Greylag goose, Roath Park Lake, signs of spring

180405 Greylag goslings (1)

As this year’s lingering wintery weather has delayed the true advent of spring by about three weeks, I certainly wasn’t expecting to see these four gorgeous Greylag goslings when I went for a wander around Roath Park Lake on Tuesday. But, as Greylag eggs take about 28 days to incubate, Mrs Goose may well have started laying just prior to the ‘Beast from the East’ storm on 1 March. Full praise to her for persevering through two heavy dumpings of snow, freezing temperatures, and some very heavy deluges of rain as well!

180405 Greylag goslings (2)180405 Greylag goslings (5)180405 Greylag goslings (3)180405 Greylag goslings (4)180405 Greylag goslings (7)180405 Greylag goslings (6)180405 Greylag goslings (8)

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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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