goose id

[gtis]

hi all
can you id this goose please
neil

[earthdragon64]

It's a Canada Goose.

Regards, Audrey.

[ChrisJB]

The one in front looks like a snow or a ross' goose (I presume that is the goose you are interested in)! If it is genuinely wild that is some sighting. Well done.

Happy New Year, Chris

[jcyprus]

The bird at the front is definately a snow or ross's goose, where was this picture taken, distinguishing rooss's from snow goose in flight is difficult but i quote from collins bird guide 2nd edition "ross's goose has shorter neck,rounder head and shorter cuter bill". With the carrier species being canada geese it is unlikely to be a genuine vagrant as they are usually seen amongst flocks of pink-footed geese or other wild geese from its breeding grounds in the arctic and iceland .
Great spot none the less.

[aeshna5]

I presume it's the leader goose the OP wants identifying. I would say it is a Ross's Goose as it is considerably smaller than the Canada Goose, has short neck + the bill is quite small; Snow Geese have a longer bill than this.

Most likely a feral bird (of which there are quite a few about) given its companion, though genuine vagrants undoubtedly do occur (but difficult to prove until it's been ringed in US/Canada/Greenland), but are most likely to occur with a suitable carrier species as mentioned above.

[JackBD95]

ross's goose nice one!!

[Dogghound]

I agree neck structure looks good for ross's goose.

[RKB]

Size, build and small bill heavily weight it as a Ross's rather than a Snow.

There are lots of feral Ross's around; have any actually been accepted by the BBRC as wild?

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by RKB

There are lots of feral Ross's around; have any actually been accepted by the BBRC as wild?

The BBRC (British Birds Rarities Committee) don't get to make that decision. Ross's Goose is currently not on the official British List, and all new additions have to be accepted by the BOURC (British Ornithologist's Union Rarities Committee).
At present Ross's Goose is I believe "held" in category D (a pending category for birds for which the identification has been proven, but the occurence in a wild state, or the presence of a self sustaining introduced population, is insufficiently supported by available evidence). "Category D", and the known escaped species in "category E", do not form part of the official list.

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by jcyprus

With the carrier species being canada geese it is unlikely to be a genuine vagrant as they are usually seen amongst flocks of pink-footed geese or other wild geese from its breeding grounds in the arctic and iceland .

Of course, if a small flock of Canada Geese were to reach the UK from North America, then they would potentially be an ideal carrier species for a wild Ross's Goose!