Canada Geese - a bumper batch of sightings

Chris Wells, who reported two recent Canada Geese (see here and here), has now submitted an incredible number of sightings - involving 130 individual geese. They were seen, between late August and mid October, at the same site - Brockhall Quarry, Stretton Sugwas, Hereford (some old mineral workings now flooded) - 37km, NE (63 degrees) of the Lake. Only a few of the records involved repeat sightings of the same birds. Chris has reported that he has only recently started reading metal rings, after spending a couple of years reading colours (from Windermere). Our standard method of ensuring rings are fitted "right way up on a standing bird", have obviously helped Chris to read the numbers. The site held over 1200 birds at the end of August, with numbers starting to reduce in early September, he estimates that approx 20% of the birds were ringed at peak time. This seems to be a major staging site for our Geese, after leaving the Lake post moult, and his records add an important element to our understanding of the Lake's Canada movements. As the number of geese reduces at Brockwell, we can expect fewer reports in the coming months, but with an "enthusiastic ring reader" locally, we should expect many more in future years. The majority of these Geese were back at the Lake (moulting) in most years between ringing and the current sighting.

The Canada Geese were originally ringed in 2007 (3 birds), 2008 (2), 2009 (2), 2010 (1), 2011 (6), none ringed in 2012, 2013 (4), 2014 (12), 2015 (16), 2016 (24), 2017 (39) and 2018 (20).

Chris also read the number, of one of the few Greylag Geese we have caught at the Lake - 5234000 was ringed on 25.06.2017, and he read the ring on 03.10.2018 - 465 days.

As well as the ring on the left leg of the bird on the right, the goose in the middle has a ring, but obscured by vegetation in this picture