Canada geese

[The Croc]

At least the Greys can't be shot under GL.

 

Amen for that

[wildfowler.250]

Perhaps they are just moving north, when they reach Scotland in numbers they will never come back, the amount of stubble up there is staggering.

I'll never understand why they feel the need to clear off south after the moult. Admittedly they get shot at but it's the same anywhere. You'd think it would be perfect.

[Varminator]

Have to say that I both love and miss Candas. These use to be prolific in the Broadland area in the 1980s and 1990s but they really have disappeared in recent years and I did not even shoot at one in Norfolk last year. I know Anser attributes this to the rise in feral greylag numbers and I have to say they do seem to be more aggressive than canadas. It probably has not helped the Italians in Suffolk have given them a hiding akin to what the Americans did to the Passenger Pigeon.

 

They are an excellent table bird but I prefer Whitefronts to eat which are also quite allusive although in the last 10 years I have now probably shot more of these than canadas (although that was due to an excellent year around 7 years ago when I had 9 in one season).

 

Respect your canadas guys as although they may not seem that sporting, and although in areas like the Dee, Dywfi and in Devon they may seem common and plentiful, I really miss that honking on a morning flight as they cut low through the mist on an early flight in September. Much rather have them than the Broadland breadlags.

[Chad63]

Oh numbers have dwindled massively in this part of Devon over the past 4 - 5 years but that's got nothing to do with Greylags because we've hardly got any! They take an absolute pasting inland of the Exe during July & August since the addition to the GL. I've heard of one field where many geese were shot 6 evenings a week for three weeks on the trot last month. Which adds weight to my argument that they're stupid because I don't know of any other bird that would continue to use a field that's getting hammered like that!

Edited September 4, 2013 by Chad63

[anser2]

Their weight can be a problem if you have far to carry them off the marsh. A few years ago I started one evening flight with a greylag and my next chance was at a skien of candas. I got a bit carried away getting a tripple , but also droped a fourth bird with the third shot. A mile walk along a very muddy track in the dark was not easy with nearly 60 pounds of geese in the game bag. Geese kept pouring overhead , but I had more than enough. Given my choice canadas are my favoured goose to eat. Just try a couple of breasts sandwiched between a layer of lard and wraped in tinfoil. Cook they under a slow heat and serve with a full roast. superbe is the only answer. But do not over cook them or you will end up with tastless stringy meat.

[henry d]

Just smoked one last night and although I over did it timing wise it still is a tasty bird.

[Pole Star]

Have to say that I both love and miss Candas. These use to be prolific in the Broadland area in the 1980s and 1990s but they really have disappeared in recent years and I did not even shoot at one in Norfolk last year. I know Anser attributes this to the rise in feral greylag numbers and I have to say they do seem to be more aggressive than canadas. It probably has not helped the Italians in Suffolk have given them a hiding akin to what the Americans did to the Passenger Pigeon.

 

They are an excellent table bird but I prefer Whitefronts to eat which are also quite allusive although in the last 10 years I have now probably shot more of these than canadas (although that was due to an excellent year around 7 years ago when I had 9 in one season).

 

Respect your canadas guys as although they may not seem that sporting, and although in areas like the Dee, Dywfi and in Devon they may seem common and plentiful, I really miss that honking on a morning flight as they cut low through the mist on an early flight in September. Much rather have them than the Broadland breadlags.

 

Have to say that I both love and miss Candas. These use to be prolific in the Broadland area in the 1980s and 1990s but they really have disappeared in recent years and I did not even shoot at one in Norfolk last year. I know Anser attributes this to the rise in feral greylag numbers and I have to say they do seem to be more aggressive than canadas. It probably has not helped the Italians in Suffolk have given them a hiding akin to what the Americans did to the Passenger Pigeon.

 

They are an excellent table bird but I prefer Whitefronts to eat which are also quite allusive although in the last 10 years I have now probably shot more of these than canadas (although that was due to an excellent year around 7 years ago when I had 9 in one season).

 

Respect your canadas guys as although they may not seem that sporting, and although in areas like the Dee, Dywfi and in Devon they may seem common and plentiful, I really miss that honking on a morning flight as they cut low through the mist on an early flight in September. Much rather have them than the Broadland breadlags.

 

You mean you have problems with the visitors from the boot shaped country in Suffolk to ? I hear bad reports of em one county up from you as well !

[scolopax]

Canada's are an early season bird locally, I would guess around 400 maybe 500 max in September, hardly any by November. Some may move inland to several local large reserves but I would say the majority move away some distance. I average only one or two most seasons and they are appreciated for the novelty value, they are also very easy to miss! If I was to rank then geese then Pinks have to be top of the list, especially as they totally abandoned my local marshes for thirty years and have only come back in the last 7 or 8 years, and even then in nothing like the numbers seen back in the sixties. Greylags come second as they are our bread and butter goose and hang around for most of the season, they are also a major success story, with a few birds let go by the wildfowling club back in the sixties to up to two thousand birds in the area now with up to 1200 using the estuary. After that Canada's but still a valued goose. Cannot rank whitefronts as we don't really see them, they are a genuine rarity on the Humber and a real trophy if you do get one. I have seen one in twenty odd years ! Although a couple of hundred did appear in the big influx two winters ago I never got to catch sight of them, much to my disappointment!

 

Edited to add Canada numbers have also dropped off a great deal locally as greylags have increased, may be just a coincidence, I also think that the Canada's have suffered proportionally more from egg/nest destruction than the greylags.

Edited September 5, 2013 by scolopax

[wildfowler.250]

Thanks for all the replies guys! Was interested to hear all your views