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Brant/Brent Goose - Branta bernicla
The brant, or brent goose (Branta bernicla), is a species of goose of the genus Branta. The black brant is a pacific North American subspecies.
It used to be a strictly coastal bird in winter, seldom leaving tidal estuaries, where it feeds on eel-grass (Zostera marina) and the seaweed, sea lettuce (Ulva). On the east coast of North America, the inclusion of sea lettuce is a recent change to their diet, brought about by a blight on eelgrass in 1931. This resulted in the near-extirpation of the brant. The few that survived changed their diet to include sea lettuce until the eelgrass eventually began to return. Brants have maintained this diet ever since as a survival strategy. In recent decades, it has started using agricultural land a short distance inland, feeding extensively on grass and winter-sown cereals. This may be behavior learned by following other species of geese. Food resource pressure may also be important in forcing this change, as the world population increased over 10-fold to 400,000-500,000 by the mid-1980s, possibly reaching the carrying capacity of the estuaries. In the breeding season, it uses low-lying wet coastal tundra for both breeding and feeding. The nest is bowl-shaped, lined with grass and down, in an elevated location, often near a small pond.
The brant goose is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds applies.
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The Egyptian goose is believed to be most closely related to the shelducks (genus Tadorna) and their relatives, and is placed with them in the subfamily Tadorninae.
This is one interesting bird that we have only spotted at Elk Grove Park. The domestic Swan Goose came from Asia. the Swan Goose, native to eastern Eurasia and sometimes called a Chinese goose. A domestic swan goose usually has a large knob at the base of the bill (the wild form lacks this). It also can show a white patch behind the bill. It varies from wild type coloring (mostly gray with a dark line down the back of the otherwise white neck) to pure white. This species is very territorial and had no fear walking up to our dog Louie and hissing. Yes, our Louie got the message and backed off very quickly.
Egyptian Goose - Alopochen Aegyptiacus
Once common along the entire Nile valley and regarded as sacred in ancient times, the Egyptian Goose is no longer an easy bird to see in the country from which it takes its name, as it is largely confined to upper Egypt. It is, however, widespread and common throughout sub-Saharan Africa, with introduced populations firmly established in England, Holland, Belgium and France. Concerns over conflict with native species has led to restrictions on keeping them in Britain and Europe.
This distinctive small goose is a member of the shelduck family. In the wild it is invariably found in pairs or family parties, while flocks of 50 or more can be found after the breeding season. The sexes are similar: both have a conspicuous chestnut patch encircling the eyes, giving them a somewhat piratical appearance, while the brilliant white forewing is obvious when they fly.
The UK Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order 2019 came into force on Sunday 1st December. The Order implements requirements contained in EU Regulation 1143/2014 on Invasive Alien Species, which sets out rules to prevent and minimise the impact of the introduction and spread of non-native animals and plants across the EU. The Order makes it an offence, amongst other things, to import, keep, sell, transport, breed or release into the environment, any of the listed plants and animals. Invasive alien waterfowl currently covered by this Order are Egyptian Geese and Ruddy Ducks Oxyura jamaicensis.
I spent about half an hour watching this Canada goose enjoying the sunshine. Although she did seem to be enjoying the sun, she also seemed a bit anxious. (I've no idea if this was actually a female but she seemed to be a she to me) I have an awful tendency to anthropomorphize animals but she seemed a bit lonely.
Knowing that Canada geese mate for life, to me it seemed like she was missing her mate. Every so often, she'd stand up and look about before settling down into the grasses again.
This unusual bird for Florida spent this past winter at Myakka River State Park among the alligators and vultures and was a favorite among photographers. I saw it from December 2019 until the middle of March 2020 when we left early due to covid.
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The Canada goose (Branta canadensisBranta canadensis) is a large wild goose species with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body
This Canada goose was gracefully floating on the pond at Maywood Environment Center while its mate rested along the pond's bank. It was a scene of natural serenity.
Appears to be mix of Canada Goose and Grey Lag Goose.
Looks like a Canada Goose but the Legs and Beak are the wrong colours.
This capture was early morning shortly after Sun Rise in the golden light.
The Barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis) belongs to the genus Branta of black geese, which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the grey Anser species. Despite its superficial similarity to the Brent Goose, genetic analysis has shown it is an eastern derivative of the Cackling Goose lineage.The Barnacle goose was first classified taxonomically by Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1803. Its specific epithet is from the Ancient Greek leuko- "white", and opsis "faced".
In English, the term "barnacle" originally referred only to this species of goose and only later to the crustacean barnacles. It is sometimes claimed that the word comes from a Celtic word for "limpet", but the sense-history seems to go in the opposite direction.[2]The Barnacle Goose is a medium-sized goose, 60–70 cm long,[3] with a white face and black head, neck, and upper breast. Its belly is white. The wings and its back are silver-gray with black-and-white bars that look like they are shining when the light reflects on it. During flight a V-shaped white rump patch and the silver-gray underwing linings are visible.
Barnacle Geese breed mainly on the Arctic islands of the North Atlantic. There are three main populations, with separate breeding and wintering ranges; from west to east:
Breeding in eastern Greenland, wintering on the Hebrides of western Scotland and in western Ireland. Population about 40,000.
Breeding on Svalbard, wintering on the Solway Firth on the England/Scotland border. Population about 24,000.
Breeding on Novaya Zemlya, wintering in the Netherlands. Population about 130,000.
A new fourth population, derived from the Novaya Zemlya population, has become established since 1975 breeding on the Baltic Sea islands (Estonia, Finland, Denmark, and Sweden), and wintering in the Netherlands. Population about 8,000.
Small numbers of feral birds, derived from escapes from zoo collections, also breed in other north European countries. Occasionally, a wild bird will appear in the Northeastern United States or Canada, but care must be taken to separate out wild birds from escaped individuals, as Barnacle Geese are popular waterfowl with collectors.
Canada goose - I always wonder what feeling they are expressing when doing this or is it part of courting.
How exciting to be able to get two really great life birds this month!! I saw the report for an Emperor Goose in Pacifica this morning so we headed over. It was somewhat distant but so happy to get to see this beautifully striking goose!
On the way back to the car, we passed an NBC news crew walking on the path that had come out to do a story on this goose. The reporter asked me if she could interview me, but I declined. I saw the news at 5 and they had a short clip but no interviews. It was a good reprieve to go see the goose and great to see something positive reported on the news instead of the doom and gloom we have all been experiencing.