... six geese a-laying

Not that our geese are laying at the moment. It being winter and everything. But now is the time to come see lots of geese at Frampton Marsh.

Brent geese are the star attraction. The smallest goose in the UK, it is barely larger than a mallard, A plump dark body on little black legs and with a black head and neck (though with a white collar). The birds we see at Frampton come here in the winter from Siberia, to escape the bitingly cold weather there. We can tell these because they are 'dark-bellied' brent. This is a separate race to the pale-bellied brent, which tend to winter in Ireland and come from Greenland and Spitzbergen. What is the difference between them? Well, oddly enough the stomach on one is a shade lighter than the other!

 Brent geese by Vogelartinfo

Aside from the brent geese, we get several other species here. Canada geese and greylag geese are present all year round and do sometimes do a bit of a-laying. Not always with the right birds though. Currently on the reserve there are a couple of rather odd looking geese, which are the result of mixed parentage. A Canada goose took a liking to a greylag goose (or was it the other way round?) and now we have a couple of hybrids wandering about the place. Will be interesting to see if they do it again next year.

 Canada goose by Dick Daniels

Canada geese are originally from, yes, Canada. brought over here to grace ornamental lakes in posh country homes, they soon did a bunk and now there is a large population living wild. They are large, with grey-brown bodies, a black neck and head with a white 'chinstrap'. Greylag geese are large and brown, with a chunky orange beak. Farmyard geese are descended from greylags and often escapees can be found with them.

 Greylag goose by Aubrey Dale

In the summer we usually only have a few Canada geese about, but in the winter we have much larger numbers. Amongst them is another goose species, the barnacle goose. This is larger than the brent geese but smaller than Canada geese. Black and white all over the body, with a black neck and a fully white face, they can sometimes be tricky to pick out amongst their larger cousins. We do get wild birds wintering in the UK, but the ones we get at Frampton are likely to have done a runner from someone's private collection, or be descended from birds that did.

 Barnacle goose by Tony Hisgett

The fifth goose we get is the pink-footed goose. This looks rather like the greylag goose, only with a much smaller and darker bill. They are slightly smaller too, with a dark head and have pink feet, rather than the bright orange of the greylag. You'd never have guessed from the name, would you? They winter with us, coming down the East coast from Greenland and Iceland.

 Pink footed geese by Duncan Brown

So that is five of the six. What about the last one? Well, we might be lucky and see the odd white-fronted goose. But rather than that, may i look to the future. Over the other side of The Wash at RSPB Snettisham there have been Egyptian geese. Yet another escapee, this buff and reddish brown goose has been spreading across the country. How long before we get some making their home here?

 Egyptian geese by Zorba the Geek