Wednesday, 17 October 2012

Hybrid Goose.

I popped to Redesmere, Cheshire, on my day off this week. Nothing really out of the ordinary there. Lots of the usual wildfowl and gulls. Geese numbers have been building steadily and today was no different. Greylags and Canada Geese were what was on offer today, and I even came across a hybrid of the two birds. When you scan hundreds of the same bird, it comes as quite a shock to see something slightly different.
Cross breeding between geese is not an uncommon thing but not the norm. Take a look at the two different types of geese below and then compare the hybrid.

These are the Canada Geese.

Greylag Geese.

Canada again.

And here is the hybrid. It seems to have the white cheek mark of the Canada Goose and lighter plumage than the Greylag, but is clearly a bit of both.

Here are some more Greylags just having fun.


There's always a real commotion when these guys come in to land



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3 comments:

  1. TexWisGirl17 October 2012 at 21:49

    really cool hybrid! i like those greylag.

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  2. Sallie (FullTime-Life)17 October 2012 at 22:16

    I love those greylag geese -- they're different from any I've seen. Great flight shots.

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  3. Kay L. Davies11 June 2016 at 17:35

    Just browsing your blog, and couldn't resist looking at your Canada Geese. I've lived in Canada all my long life and have seen thousands of Canada Geese, but I never until this moment realized they'd cross-breed with other geese. Learn something new every day. (And I think your mum might have been right about breaking an arm, especially if she told you this when you were small. Geese are ferocious when bothered.)
    Kay—An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
    www.unfittie.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

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