What goose?

[Africa]

Michael flowers has uploaded a beautiful close up photo of the goose in question on his blog. He also thinks it is a hybrid CanadaxGreylag:

Birding with Flowers: First Full Week of Classes

[Dogghound]

None hybrid Greylag can show a white blaze similar to the one found on white fronts, just less distinctive in most cases.

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by Africa

I think it is too small for a Canada x Greylag, which tend to have a very distinctive appearance too.

I just can't see any reason to exclude Canada x Greylag Goose (which tends to be by far the most common hybrid goose seen in the UK. They can also be quite variable, especially when the possibility of "domestic Greylag types" are taken into account.
Admittedly a hybrid of a Canada Goose and another anser species might look very similar - but does anything really suggest that this is the case here?

[Africa]

I guess if it is a hybrid Canada is definitely a parent, as for the other, who knows! Only genetic analysis can tell. I agree that given they are the most common species, they will produce the most likely hybrids, but what about escapees from other species who fail to find a partner, they might end up joining a Canada or greylag flock and mate with one of them, so that cannot be discounted.

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by Africa

I guess if it is a hybrid Canada is definitely a parent, as for the other, who knows! Only genetic analysis can tell. I agree that given they are the most common species, they will produce the most likely hybrids, but what about escapees from other species who fail to find a partner, they might end up joining a Canada or greylag flock and mate with one of them, so that cannot be discounted.

I don't think that there is any doubt at all that there is Canada Goose involved in the ancestry of this bird, and it's definitely a hybrid.
When hybrids aren't seen while they are still clearly in a family group with both parents, DNA analysis is the only way to be100% certain of the parentage ('trigens' involving three species in the parentage are also something that sometimes needs to be considered), but in many cases the result of certain crosses, and the variation individual variation shown, is well known - and this one looks very much like Canada x Greylag Goose hybrids. You'll probably never know for certain, but it is definitely not a pure White-fronted Goose.