#Flocks of geese Patch

The geese are not formally designated a pest in New Zealand, which means they do not fall under the ministry of primary industries’ biosecurity remit. There is no longer centralised data about the nationwide population – that halted when Fish and Game were stripped of their authority - but Wilson said that in the central North Island “the numbers are going through the roof”.įish and Game’s most recent swan and waterfowl count for that region showed the Canada geese population had increased roughly six times in 10 years, with at least 12,000 birds now living near the Waikato lakes, Wilson said. When you have a decoy and are trying to hide and someone is taking shots at you, it discourages people.” “When we lost status, they had no status at all, and anyone could take a potshot, and that becomes dangerous for game-bird hunters.

That was all done at the expense of game-bird hunters. “When populations were getting out of hand, we would have an organised cull, which was very popular. The change to the bird’s status “changed the whole way they were managed”, Fish and Game’s Ben Wilson said. Not only are hunters not as readily available, but summer holidaymakers frequent the waterholes where the birds roost and graze, making it harder for hunters to safely go about their business. That window sits between Christmas and New Year.

To shoot them in flight requires practice, skill and preferably a helicopter, so culls are often carried out during their moult, when they lose their feathers and become flightless for a short period of time. Their bills are also distinctively black.If their nests come under threat, they move into safer, harder-to-reach habitats.

#Flocks of geese Patch

They have a small white patch across the neck. These geese measure 55 to 66cm (22 to 26in) long with a wingspan of 106 to 121cm (42 to 48in) and weigh 0.88 to 2.2 kg (1.9 to 4.9lb).īrent geese have dark grey-brown backs, a white undertail and dark black necks and heads. It’s the smallest goose seen in the UK - they’re roughly the same size as a Mallard duck. The Brent goose is very dark - pretty much black and belongs to the Branta genus. You’re most likely to see Brent geese in October through till March, when they leave UK shores for their breeding grounds.

In winter, there are approximately 100,000 of these geese in the UK, with eastern populations migrating to southern England and East Anglia and western populations migrating to the North East and Ireland. The Dark-bellied Brent goose migrates from northern Russia and Siberia, whereas the Pale-bellied Brent goose migrates from Greenland, Svalbard and other parts of western Scandinavia. Two main populations migrate to the UK the Pale-bellied subspecies and the Dark-bellied subspecies. The Brent goose only visits the UK in winter, completing a long journey from Russia, Scandinavia and Greenland. Greylags have pinkish feet and an orange bill. They’re primarily brown-grey with a lighter brown breast and white undertail. They measure 74 to 91cm (29 to 36in) long with a wingspan of 147 to 180cm (58 to 71in). Greylag geese are the bulkiest members of the Anser genus. Greylags have a long and illustrious role in human history - they were linked to the Sumerian goddess of healing and Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Greylag geese supposedly earned their name as they’re slow to migrate and typically wait until November or even December to migrate, thus ‘lagging’ behind other geese. Wild Greylags are mostly distributed in Scotland, coastal Wales and east England, but they can be spotted in practically any lowland area, including parks and suburban areas. There are some 46,000 breeding pairs in the UK, and winter numbers are boosted by some 80,000 migrants from Iceland. The Greylag goose is the UK’s only native breeding goose.