Day 59 - On The Sixth Day of Nature

On the Sixth Day of Nature my true love gave to me, 6 geese a-laying, 5 golden eyes, 4 calling birds, 3 brown Chickens, 2 Collared Doves and a Partridge on a board walk.

Six Canada Geese (feeding not laying though!)

Hi all today's Day 59 or the Sixth Day of Christmas. If you don't know I am doing my own take on the 12 days of Christmas called the 12 days of nature. The original verse for the sixth day of Christmas is as follows. On the Sixth Day of Christmas my true love gave to me, 6 geese a-laying, 5 gold rings.... etc.

My version today is 6 geese a-laying, 5 golden eyes, 4 calling birds, 3 brown chickens, 2 Collared Doves and a Partridge on a board walk.

So I see these geese a lot and they regularly fly over my house to a nearby pond. I love their formations and their honking, but they are not always so kindly regarded. So here are a few facts:

• They are 168cm long with a cm wingspan. They are extremely heavy birds both genders weighing on average 4.6kg!

Canada Goose
(Branta canadensis)

• They have no status as they are an introduced species from North America apparently first introduced in 1665 (to St James Park) and again in the 1950's and 1960's. From this they have bred well as there are 62,000 breeding pairs in the UK.

• Its not always been the case. in North America in the early 20th Century they were in serious decline due to over hunting and loss of habitat. They had to be protected by law and conservation programs put in place to help them recover.

• In some areas they are considered a pest. They are noisy, a bit grumpy if you get close to them and make quite a mess in numbers. According to National Geographic just 50 of these birds can produce two and a half tons of excrement a year (wow!)

• That seems all the more incredible when you think that their diet is just roots, grass, leaves and seeds.

• They form aerodynamic V shaped flying formations (kind of like the red arrows), Because of this they can fly up to 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometres) in a day if the wind is right!

• It is said that they are one of the most inedible of birds, so you wonder why they were almost hunted to extinction!

• The oldest recorded Canada Goose was 31 years 10 months old, but a typical lifespan is 6 years (BTO) to 24 years (National Geographic)

Here are some links to some more information:

RSPB - Canada Goose

BTO Birdfacts - Canada Goose

National Geographic - Canada Goose

Hope you enjoyed,

Z.