Egyptian Geese

One of our regular walking places is West Stow Country Park in Suffolk. It has lots of different habitats - the river Lark, heathland, woodland, and lakes. Today when we walked along the river two Egyptian geese flew up onto a dead tree. We have seen these geese on the lake before but never on the river and never up a tree! They are stunning looking birds with their 'cleopatra' eyeliner, bronze and green plumage, flashes of white feathers and pink feet, and they are noisy!

So why are such strange looking birds on the lake? Well according to the RSPB website the Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiacus) was introduced here from Africa in the 17th century for ornamental ponds, they struggled to survive the colder UK climate but recently have begun to grow in numbers, probably due to milder winters, and are now resident, mostly in East Anglia but are starting to spread further.

Egyptian Geese, West Stow, Suffolk

Egyptian Geese, West Stow, Suffolk

Egyptian Geese, West Stow, Suffolk