The Mother of all Geese

Greylag Geese on the Isle of Mull Scotland

Happy Wild Bird Wednesday :0)

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The Greylag Goose (Anser anser) is believed to be the ancestor of most modern day domestic Geese. It is the largest of the native UK and European native Geese and, to my eye, it is very similar in size to a Canada Goose (Branta canadensis).
This beautiful bird is officially classed as amber status in the UK, meaning moderate cause for concern for the population numbers.
In the South of England release of birds has been on going for a number of years to help re-establish their population with some success, but the population found in Scotland are from the original native stock and retain more of the natural behaviors of true wild birds.
This was taken on the Isle of Mull, the second largest of the “Inner Hebrides” off the West Coast of Scotland.
Another first for me on a really rather wonderful trip to magical Mull :0)

Shot with the my trusty Canon 100-400mm f/4.8-5.6 L lens wide open on the Canon 7D to get the shallow depth of field to give the soft focus bokeh of the 2 Geese in the background

Avocets crossing bills

Avocets crossing bills

Happy Wild Bird Wednesday :0)

Click the link below to see photographs from many talented folk around the world and feast your eyes on our fine feathered friends!!

A square format photograph of a pair of Avocets (Recurvirostra avosetta) at Elmley Marshes in Kent, England. Very similar in appearance to the American Avocet (Recurvirostra Americana), but lacking the apricot coloration. Delightful nonetheless. I had one of those moments which sometimes happens to wildlife photographers, when everything works in your favour and caught these two in perfect crossed beak symmetry. These beautiful birds are something of a rarity in England, officially Amber Status with 1,500 breeding pairs in the UK, confined largely to the East cost in Summer (where these were) and in the South West over winter. They are a huge success story and had been absent for many years until a few pairs arrived in East Anglia in the 1940s and began to breed. The importance of this successful breeding gave rise to the Avocet being used as the emblem of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (The RSPB).

Taken on the Canon 7D with my trusty canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L lens