What's Good For The Goose
Today's image was taken on a quick jaunt back to The Friars (our local Carmelite Priory). I'd been having a fairly nondescript day doing boring household stuff so I needed to get out for a brisk walk in the fresh, crisp wintery air and have a change of scenery.
I saw what I thought was this rather exotic looking duck that I'd never encountered before, with its companion or possibly partner, being very aggressive and making an absolute racket on the duck pond, which seemed to be intimidating all the other bird life present. So of course that meant I had to follow it around until I got an image for today's blip! I took several shots but only this one in profile - with it looking like butter wouldn't melt - was actually any good.
It turns out, after looking it up via a "Specieswatch" blog on the internet, that this is actually an Egyptian Goose (alopochen aegypticus) - an invasive species that after struggling to survive Britain's winters for more than 300 years is now undergoing a population explosion.
Once confined to a small area of Norfolk it is now abundant across Greater London (my brother later confirmed he has seen them in lakes at various London parks behaving in exactly the same manner as mentioned above) and surrounding counties and has been reported breeding in the West Country and as far north as the Humber.
Originally a native of sub-tropical Africa it was brought to Britain in the late 17th Century as an ornamental bird for the lakes of country gentlemen. Its attraction is its apricot coloured breast, white wing patch and dark brown patches over its eyes that look as if its wearing glasses.
Apologies for all the Egyptian Goose facts - if it's not your bag pharaoh enough!
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