Goosey Goosey ? - have a gander !

Spent a couple of hours at Woolston Eyes this afternoon and spotted a lone Pink footed Goose and also this hybrid Canada Goose  -   not sure what the other cross is as this goose has yellow legs !      

Quite a handsome goose and it seemed to be paired up with a full breed Canada Goose;  

see what I mean about the yellow legs  !   

and with its mate who was snoozing ......

splish-splash .... she was taking a bath  !

and now the lone Pink-footed goose ............

  • It's always a challenge to know who's been naughty with whom. I suspect feral Greylag with Canada but who knows for sure. There are some examples of such hybrids HERE.

    Nice to see the Pink-foot, Hazel. It's been terribly gloomy again down here. Has it been the same with you?

  • Thanks for the link Tony, really nice to see some hybrid examples;
    It was generally cloudy here too but with occasional breaks in the cloud throwing down sunshine until about 2.45pm when it clouded over completely and looked more like the gloom of late afternoon ! Better weather on its way from tomorrow, a bit more settled methinks.
  • Nice shots, Hazel. It's not always easy to get close up views of a Pink-foot.
  • I hope you gave that goose a good telling off. It's bad enough trying to ID birds sometimes without them getting creative and confusing us even more :)
  • Thanks folks ..
    @ Paul - I think it's one of the few times I've seen a pink foot on the ground as they are usually passing way over my head when I see any, this was a real bonus where I could see closer the distinct differences between this and a greylag !
    @ Nigel, LOL ! heaven help us if the gulls start interbreeding as I already am bamboozled by the number of species and whether they are 1st, 2nd, etc. winter or in winter/summer plumage so maybe I should be grateful it's mainly only geese and ducks I have to try fathom out at the moment !