black powder gunner Posted October 29, 2017 Report Share Posted October 29, 2017 This afternoon I went down onto our inland marsh to repair one of our permanent hides has I was nailing some boards on when the magic sound of geese approaching to my left got down in the hide and about a hundred greylags went over about thirty feet high but one of them was jet black with no markings what so ever. Was it a greylag or another breed of goose any ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39TDS Posted October 29, 2017 Report Share Posted October 29, 2017 Cormorant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fen tiger Posted October 29, 2017 Report Share Posted October 29, 2017 Could it have been a Black Swan.? Escapes have bred here known to move about with geese, imagine there will be some with geese on lakes in parks in Yorkshire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted October 29, 2017 Report Share Posted October 29, 2017 This year first time I’ve seen cormorants fly with geese. Usually one cormorants or two together is the norm for round here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black powder gunner Posted October 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2017 It was not a cormorant because I shoot two or three every year on licence to protect our fish breeding ponds and it was not a black swan because we sometimes see these on the river. I have been wildfowling for over forty years and seen white greylags also hybrid geese but never a jet black goose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted October 30, 2017 Report Share Posted October 30, 2017 Could it have been a Brent Goose ? , do you do coastal or inland fowling , as I don't think a Brent would venture to far inland at this time of the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landofficer Posted October 30, 2017 Report Share Posted October 30, 2017 A red brested goose is very black in flight, at a distance you might not tell that it has a red throat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derbyduck Posted November 2, 2017 Report Share Posted November 2, 2017 30ft aint a distance ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landofficer Posted November 2, 2017 Report Share Posted November 2, 2017 Any suggestions derbyduck on what it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted November 3, 2017 Report Share Posted November 3, 2017 Could it have been a stealth goose, a product of the American Low Observable Program akin to the F117 Nighthawk? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlandladdie Posted November 3, 2017 Report Share Posted November 3, 2017 (edited) Could it have been a Brent Goose ? , do you do coastal or inland fowling , as I don't think a Brent would venture to far inland at this time of the year. That's what I was thinking. We get a few each year where I am. Or a Bean Goose? Very dark plumage. Edited November 3, 2017 by Highlandladdie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted November 3, 2017 Report Share Posted November 3, 2017 That's what I was thinking. We get a few each year where I am. Or a Bean Goose? Very dark plumage. I wouldn't have thought a Bean Goose with it being a member of the Grey geese family and they passed the op only 10 yards away ( 30ft ) , but then again you could well be right , they are slightly darker , but we wasn't told the size in comparison to the Greylags . if it was the same size as Greylags then I think it would rule out a Brent , Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancer425 Posted November 3, 2017 Report Share Posted November 3, 2017 That's what I was thinking. We get a few each year where I am. Or a Bean Goose? Very dark plumage. Good point in Beans they are darkish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6.5x55SE Posted November 3, 2017 Report Share Posted November 3, 2017 I'd stake my life on it NOT being a Bean Goose as in flight they have the opposite to Black look on the underside is White . Depending on size I'd plum for Brent if it was a Goose but having said that someone with 40 years Wildfowling experience surprises me they can't I'd the bird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black powder gunner Posted November 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2017 Last night we went onto the marsh for a evening flight when it was still light the first bunch of greylags to come over us the black goose was with them these were about seventy yards up so out of shot. It is the same size as a greylag and looks like a greylag but it is jet black. We do some times get brent geese later in the season and it is not a brent. We had a good flight and shot eight greys between three of us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panoma1 Posted November 4, 2017 Report Share Posted November 4, 2017 (edited) Well you see black squirrels and black rabbits, so why not a black Greylag?.....I know of no solid coloured black goose, maybe an exotic escapee from some collection/park/zoo etc? Or a melanistic Greylag? You need to get a closer look! Lol! Edited November 4, 2017 by panoma1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derbyduck Posted November 4, 2017 Report Share Posted November 4, 2017 Any suggestions derbyduck on what it was. I was thinking maybe a brent untill the op said that they get brents ocassionly over thier land and dismissed it being a brent ! so i'll go with a dark colured greylag ,not a bean goose as they are lighter than pinks when overhead . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted November 4, 2017 Report Share Posted November 4, 2017 (edited) Just googled this on a birder site Edited November 4, 2017 by islandgun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6.5x55SE Posted November 5, 2017 Report Share Posted November 5, 2017 Greylag Goose, Swanton Morley, 27-Oct-07 (3).JPG Just googled this on a birder site !!!!? Looks like a typical run of the mill greylag to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted November 6, 2017 Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 and heres a picture of a run of the mill polar bear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6.5x55SE Posted November 6, 2017 Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 So please do enlighten me to what is so different to the picture of the Greylag than the thousands I've shot and seen !!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted November 6, 2017 Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 1 hour ago, 6.5x55SE said: So please do enlighten me to what is so different to the picture of the Greylag than the thousands I've shot and seen !!!!!!! I havnt shot thousands and neither would i, however i do have hundreds of resident greylag geese around my house, some a few mtrs from my door and of all of those, I have never seen one that approached the dark colour of the one I posted, however I do accept that there are many shades of grey, One thing for sure is the pointlessness of arguing about it, It was never my intention to be so provocative when i posted the photo just merely to point out that the OP may have seen a rare dark greylag, (given that there is such a thing,) one thing when/if i do see a dark greylag I will try to photograph or shoot it, then we will be able to argue about its greyness for a few pages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6.5x55SE Posted November 6, 2017 Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 1 hour ago, islandgun said: I havnt shot thousands and neither would i, however i do have hundreds of resident greylag geese around my house, some a few mtrs from my door and of all of those, I have never seen one that approached the dark colour of the one I posted, however I do accept that there are many shades of grey, One thing for sure is the pointlessness of arguing about it, It was never my intention to be so provocative when i posted the photo just merely to point out that the OP may have seen a rare dark greylag, (given that there is such a thing,) one thing when/if i do see a dark greylag I will try to photograph or shoot it, then we will be able to argue about its greyness for a few pages It is not or was my intention to upset or offend anyone and definitely not to come across as i know everything. But I've shot Geese all over England Scotland Scottish Islands for nearly fifty years I've every species you could imagine including White Piebald Luecistic and cross breed Geese the picture you posted in my opinion is nothing unusual . As for the black goose the Thread is about IF the OP is adamant it is a Goose of greylag size I'd say it's a Greylag cross Canada with more Canada than Greylag again which are quite common Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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