Post by Tringa on Dec 17, 2020 15:41:43 GMT
What are the chances I have seen two white fronted geese?
I was walking across Wanstead Flats earlier this afternoon. Wanstead Flats is an area of football pitches, rough grassland and small copses about 8 miles roughly north east, in a straight line, from Trafalgar Square.
This map gives an idea of the area and what surrounds it -
There were two geese wandering around the football pitches area and my first thought was they were greylags. Greylag geese are fairly common around here but it is unusual to see only two.
Looking more closely more they both had an obvious white patch at the base of the bill. I then thought of white fronted geese but dismissed it as there only being two of them, the location is not far from central London and as the map shows almost completely surrounded by houses, and the geese seemed far too comfortable with people wandering fairly close by.
My bird books did not come up with anything other than white fronted geese. This would be good for me as I have not seen any before, but it seems such an unlikely place for a pair to turn up.
Dave
