Greylag Goose tourist!

[RoyW]

Most of us have flocks of feral Greylags somewhere near us (and a some in Scotland probably regularly see wild birds).
Don't always assume that you are always seeing the same 'resident' geese in feral flocks though, the one in these photos, which has recently been present locally to me, is originally from Sweden but now seems to be touring Britain:




It has now been seen in Northumberland, North Yorkshire, Cornwall, Aberdeenshire, Essex and Bedfordshire (full history)!

[aeshna5]

Yes, it's so easy to assume these are the same feral geese which are resident with us- interesting travels revealed here!

[bigdave60dog]

What do you mean by the word "FERAL"? Dave

[SuzieandFlo]

Doesn't feral mean that the animal/bird has originated from captive bred stock and has escaped or descended from those ? A truly wild animal/bird to me is one that has never been in captivity, or has descended from captive ancestors (does that make sense ?).

[bigdave60dog]

Yeah that`s what I thought.
Domesticated geese have long since lost all ability to fly so how are these feral?

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by SuzieandFlo

Doesn't feral mean that the animal/bird has originated from captive bred stock and has escaped or descended from those ? A truly wild animal/bird to me is one that has never been in captivity, or has descended from captive ancestors (does that make sense ?).

Originally Posted by bigdave60dog

Yeah that`s what I thought.

OK, strictly speaking "feral" should refer to animals/birds that have been changed by domestication and have then escaped and are breeding wild - like Feral Pigeons (descended from wild Rock Doves), feral Mallards (the odd ones that often appear on WAB as 'hybrid' ducks), and geese that show obvious signs of domestication (white geese, Chinese Geese etc).
Geese populations that have originated from captive stock, but have not been changed by selective breeding, are better referred to as naturalised - but in my experienced are more often referred to as "feral".

Originally Posted by bigdave60dog

Domesticated geese have long since lost all ability to fly so how are these feral?

Not at all true. Some of the larger breeds can barely fly (if at all) but there are plenty of breeds that fly without any problem at all.

[Farplace]

Originally Posted by bigdave60dog

Yeah that`s what I thought.
Domesticated geese have long since lost all ability to fly so how are these feral?

I have had quite a few emden geese over the years. I can assure you they can fly TOO well. I have chased them for miles over the Wear Valley!

[bigdave60dog]

Never had Emdens. Or any recognised breeds for that matter (other than Chinese Geese) We tend to have either White Geese, Grey Geese or Grey and White Geese. In over 40 years I have yet to see one that could fly 100yards never mind "Miles" What do you feed `em on?
And it still don`t explain why the geese on this thread are feral rather than wild.
Greylags are in the Uk in thousands just now and will mostly head North very soon. These are certainly not naturalised.

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by bigdave60dog

And it still don`t explain why the geese on this thread are feral rather than wild.
Greylags are in the Uk in thousands just now and will mostly head North very soon. These are certainly not naturalised.

Perhaps you live in Scotland (or northern England/Ireland) and are one of the people who is used to seeing wild Greylags?

There is a small indigenous population in north-west Scotland (c3,200 or so pairs), and c80,000 wild Icelandic birds visit for the winter (mainly to Scotland, but also northern England and Ireland).
Elsewhere there are resident, introduced Greylags (ie. naturalised, or feral) - probably nearly 20,000 breeding pairs by now. These are the feral Greylags that are present in all the areas this one has visited (and most flocks will contain at least a few individuals showing signs of domestication).

Look up UK Greylag populations.

[Dogghound]

Now this is just too weird. Your not going to believe me here, but I actually saw this bird in Scarborough last year, as part of a flock of 30 greylag and 3 pinkfeet. It was on my local patch, What are the chances.