migratory geese early?

[scarter]

ive been in the Broxbourne are today and seen lots of migratory canadas are they slightly early anyone recon?

looks encouraging for this season tho

[beesley121]

Are u sure they aren't resident Canada's? How can you tell they are migratory?h

[Big Mat]

I didnt think we got migratory canadas?

[Pole Star]

I didnt think we got migratory canadas?

 

I have heard it said by some birdies & wildfowling authorities that they seen not to have forgotten their migrating instincts .

[wildfowler.250]

Surely they are resident? Or at best moving south after a moult?

 

More importantly is when the pinks get in

[henry d]

Surely they are resident? Or at best moving south after a moult?

 

More importantly is when the pinks get in Usually the 15th for the first few skeins, but much more in late sept early oct.

[Penelope]

They won't be migratory, just the regular lot that reside on all of the Lea Valley gravel pits. The Greylag population is doing well, although Lea Valley Parks do have the nests of both species done to control the numbers.

 

To the best of my knowledge the only recorded migratory population of Canadas in the UK is a population from Yorkshire (the Ing's??) that migrate north to the Beauly Firth to moult their flight feather then fly back, but this is old information and other populations may have taken up migrations of sorts.

 

Perhaps Anser2 can update??

ive been in the Broxbourne are today and seen lots of migratory canadas are they slightly early anyone recon?

looks encouraging for this season tho

[wildfowler.250]

Usually the 15th..

I agree Henry. October is usually the best month for them. Two years ago I shot one on the 3rd of September but that seems really early to me!

[Terry P]

I wish the pinks would migrate to Anglesey, it would save me a fortune on my annual migrations to Scotland

[anser2]

In the UK canadas are not migratory in the true sence. Some do move up to Scotland on a moult migration , but none move abroad on a regular migration and the majority of adult canadas never move more tham 50 miles away from where they were hatched. In the USA of canadas do migrate , but unlike most birds where migration is instinct , in geese migration is learnt off their parents. As our canadas were bred for generations in captivity, the original wild forefathers now long dead and their young being in captivity never learnt to migrate. As far as our UK canadas are concerned the world ends in Northern Scotland and they have no idear Iceland or Greenland exists.

 

However canadas have been introduced to Norway and Sweden from captive stock. They have had to learn to migrate because the weather is so cold they would otherwise die . It propable started with the geese just moving south ahead of the snow and in time they learnt to know the cold weather was comming and started to migrate before it arrived. So new migration patterns can be learnt ( at the moment the weather in England is so mild they do not need to migrate to get away from the cold ). There is ringing evidence that some of these Scandinavian canadas are starting to reach the UK so if any pair with our birds there is a good chance in the future than a migration tradition may evolve here .

Edited August 14, 2013 by anser2

[SuperGoose75]

Just a note to say' that wild migratory Canada's have been recorded over here; Not 100% sure if they came from across the pond our from Greenland' but I know from a good source that a few did show up. !! The canada's here seem to be increasing yearly and it is possible that some come across from the UK. Bit early for any birds coming down from the north.

[anser2]

A few wild canadas do turn up in the western Isles , usualy with the barnacles and are usualy of the smaller races.At the last count I think there were about 10 races of canadis goose , but this is always changing as what was thought to be a seperate race has been found to be intergrading with others. There is some debate if our resident canadas originate from Western or Giant canada races and its posible that ours are a hybrid between the two.

[scarter]

One reason I thought they cud be migratory is because I've never seen that amount there before and they were in sorta skeens of 15 wen they took off , there were several skeens that tool off at different times.

 

Also about 10 or so flew over my house the other week and the next morning 20 or so were on a stubble field next to my house on freshly cut stubble, the field was finished at 12 that night, so I wondered if they might have stopped there on their travels.

And we never see geese in our area!

[anser2]

I expect they have been attracted by the recently cut stubbles. There could have been a change in crop type or perhaps the harvest is very late in the area they usually use so they are looking for parstures new. Good luck on the 1st.

Edited August 17, 2013 by anser2

[RossEM]

On the lake I live on, a big influx of Canadas arrive around the breeding season (although only two broods succeeded this year.) Numbers throughout the year are normally under 100, but in Spring they can swell to 300 including the juveniles, and these gradually tail off towards winter. I think the birds flight between this lake and another on a private estate about five miles away, but I wouldn't call that migratory! They're just starting to feed on the stubbles now, flying over my house at dawn about 30 yards up.

 

Also every year a big group of 60 feral Greylags turn up, pretty much staying for the length of the shooting season - they're not stupid!

[henry d]

I expect they have been attracted by the recently cut stubbles. There could have been a change in crop type or perhaps the harvest is very late in the area they usually use so they are looking for parstures new. Good luck on the 1st.

 

A big influence on the movement of (wild) geese up here is how hard they have been shot and it could be that Scarter has seen geese that are being pushed about due to heavy culling using the GL?

[wildfowler.250]

 

A big influence on the movement of (wild) geese up here is how hard they have been shot and it could be that Scarter has seen geese that are being pushed about due to heavy culling using the GL?

I'm hoping most folk have left them even though they're on GL in Scotland now the only hang around for the 1st week of September,(max) before the shooting drives them off.