Swans and geese

[M]

Over the last 3 years I have driven to work over what are locally called 'the moors'; low/wetland criss-crossed with ditches. It is home to several swan families and last year one pair had 6 young. It's been great watching them grow and they are now huge grubby teenagers.

However, further along my route is a pair with no young. At the beginning of this week, they were joined by a pair of Canada geese. They were all happily feeding in a very tight space. This morning there were 8 geese and they still still seemed to be getting along just fine, feeding in a tight knit group. There don't seem to be geese anywhere else in the area. Is this usual?

[klr]

Are the Swans Mutes or Whoopers (migratory)? I live close to a concentration of Mute Swans, but there are no breeding pairs there. There are a good many scattered around the rest of the city and surrounds though. Geese I wouldn't know about.

[M]

Are the Swans Mutes or Whoopers (migratory)? I live close to a concentration of Mute Swans, but there are no breeding pairs there. There are a good many scattered around the rest of the city and surrounds though. Geese I wouldn't know about.

They are there all the time. There is one other pair who had 2 cygnets last year andothers too far from the road to know. I'm not a bird watcher, it's just something that makes my journey to work pleasant.

[Feck]

We had a stable pair of breeding mute swans but always with them was a whooper who never migrated and acted like she was a mute family member, never could see if she sat on the eggs but she guarded the nest sight .

[klr]

Are the Swans Mutes or Whoopers (migratory)? I live close to a concentration of Mute Swans, but there are no breeding pairs there. There are a good many scattered around the rest of the city and surrounds though. Geese I wouldn't know about.

They are there all the time. There is one other pair who had 2 cygnets last year andothers too far from the road to know. I'm not a bird watcher, it's just something that makes my journey to work pleasant.

Then they're Mutes - they don't migrate. I too have Mute Swans on my way to and from work, and on most other regular routes as well. If you get tired of looking at Swans (and cygnets!) then there's no hope for you IMHO.

[klr]

We had a stable pair of breeding mute swans but always with them was a whooper who never migrated and acted like she was a mute family member, never could see if she sat on the eggs but she guarded the nest sight .

Wow. I've never heard of that before. Fascinating, as old Dave would say.

[Feck]

This is one of the pair

[klr]

Beautiful - and I'm hard to impress, having about a gazillion Swan photos.

Tagged as well I see.

[Hyrax]

Near my house there are thousands of Canadas, but a particular group (identified by one particular ringed individual) is always accompanied by 2 Bar headed geese and 1 domestic Greylag, with no obvious 'oi Kev, them ones are different' style animosity. I think it's common place for naturally gregarious species to form inter species bonds in wild fowl families which is why hybrids are so prevelant in ducks and geese in particular (not too mention a pain in the arse for us birders).

[M]

So today the geese have gone. I guess they were having a truck stop en route somewhere. But a pair with 4 young have moved really near the big family now, so it's quite a busy spot. They seemed really hungry this morning.

[Tigger]

I took this pic with a phone a few weeks ago. The swan looked a bit pissed off about the change of state of its liquid habitat.

[Animavore]

I've never eaten goose

[Tigger]

I've never eaten goose

Choked one?

[Animavore]

I've never eaten goose

Choked one?

No. Just chickens and turkeys.

[M]

'My' swans are massed just now. They are all in one patch of meadow on the moors.... 40 of them! I've only ever counted 24 before and that is spread out over the 5 minute drive across this area. It's fabulous to see them all together.