GREYLAG GOOSE

Anser anser

Length             80cm

Wingspan       140-160cm

Weight             3-4 kg

Population      150,000

The greylag goose is a large, pale grey goose with pink legs and an orange bill. It is our most common and widespread native goose , wildin the north of Scotland and reintroduced to the rest of the UK. The greylag can be territorial whilst nesting and will chase other geese and birds away from it’s nest site.

Greylag geese are monogamous and usually pair for life . The greylag normally doesn’t start breeding until 3 years of age, with consequent large numbers of non-breeding sub-adult birds. The greylag goose usually starts to nest in April, on the ground, preferably on an island if at all possible. The nest is lined with feathers and down. The greylag goose normally lay 5-7 eggs, incubated by the female for four weeks. From the moment they hatch, their downy young can walk, swim and feed themselves but it is seven to nine weeks before they can fly. The average lifespan of a greylag in the wild is about eight years.

The geese and their goslings feed mostly by grazing short-cropped grass but head for the water whenever danger threatens. They feed on any plant material, including roots, tubers, shoots and leaves, both in water and on land.

Classified in the UK as Amber under the Birds of Conservation Concern 4: the Red List for Birds (2015). Protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. Greylag geese are listed in Schedule 2 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, meaning they can be killed or taken outside of the close season.

©️ wildonline.blog

THE JAY

Meet the Model – Jasmine the Jay The Jay or Garrulus glandarius is undoubtedly the most colourful member of the crow family of birds Family name Corvidae. The genus term, Garrulus, means noisy and chattering; the secondary term, glandarious, means “of acorns”, pertaining to the Jay’s habit of favouring acorns as part of its diet […]

by phans66 September 25, 2022July 23, 2022

Bullfinch

BULLFINCH Pyrrhula pyrrhula Length            16 cm Wingspan        28cm Weight              35 g Population       400,000 One of the larger finches’s the bullfinch has a rounder more compact body , with a black face and head , bright pink underparts and […]

by phans66 September 24, 2022July 23, 2022

OTTER

Say hello to Oscar the Otter ( Lutra lutra ) The Otter is Britain’s largest member of the Weasel Family , leading an amphibious lifestyle in our rivers, lakes and river estuaries. By the 1960s they were on the verge of extinction due to river pollution, habitat loss and hunting. Now with legal protection, cleaner […]

by phans66 September 23, 2022July 23, 2022