Main Species

Of all the species of bird that occur at Eccleston mere, the feral geese are perhaps the most obvious, with sometimes over 400 birds present, but at other times only a handful of birds are to be seen. There are two main species involved, Canada Goose and Greylag, both of which breed at the mere. A third species, Barnacle Goose can regularly be seen in small numbers, and singles of other species are occasionally seen.

Canada Goose

By far the most numerous of the feral geese at the mere and also the largest, up to 420 Canada Geese have been recorded in late summer and over 100 are regularly present. Several pairs breed and in 1997 at least 35 young birds were counted. It is not unusual to see as many as 20 young with a single pair of Canada Geese, but these are thought to be the product of two or more pairs, which have been ‘taken over’ by a more dominant pair.

Greylag

Greylags have increased from just a handful in 1992, to a record of 110 in July 2002. In 1995 they bred for the first time, and in 1996 there were three pairs which raised 15 young. However the species has declined in recent years, and there are rarely more than ten present these days. In 1999, a pair raised two Canada Geese young.

Barnacle Goose

Up to 47 Barnacle geese have been recorded at the mere, but unlike the other two main species, they can peak in January or February, as well as late summer. Occasionally they reach double figures in other months, but in two thirds of the year they are not recorded at all. Barnacle geese do not breed at the mere.

Hybrids

There are usually two or three hybrid geese at the mere and these are the result of pairings between Canadas and Greylags. This is the commonest form of goose hybridisation, despite the fact that Canadas are black geese and Greylags grey geese.

Other Species

Ross’s goose

A single of this species was present with the Canada geese for just one day in July 1996.

Red Breasted goose

A single was present with the Greylags for two weeks in August 1997, and one flew over with feral Barnacles in September 2005.

Bar headed goose

Occasional Bar headed geese are recorded, including one with Canada geese in May 1996, and one with Greylags in 1999.

Pink footed goose

Wild Pink feet can often be seen flying over the mere in winter, in flocks of up to 200, but I have never seen them land. Occasionally feral or injured Pink feet join the Greylags and Canada geese, including one in April 1995.

Snow Goose

A Blue Phase Snow Goose was with the Canadas in the second half of 1998.

Movements of feral geese to and from Eccleston mere

Feral geese are often considered to be resident, but this is not at all the case at Eccleston mere. Canada and Greylag numbers are usually average and fairly stable during the first few months of the year, before falling away in the spring to leave small breeding populations plus a few non breeders. However, numbers rocket up to the years maximum in July, August and September, before falling away to the years low in autumn. This pattern is repeated every year, with as much predictability as the arrival of the wild geese at Martin mere in the autumn.

Fortunately, because the large late summer flocks are often accompanied by ‘rarities’, it is possible to hazard a guess as to where they go when they leave the mere. On July 31^st 1996 a Ross’s goose was with the Canada geese. The following day, it and a large proportion of the Canadas had gone. A few days later the Ross’s goose was at Frodsham with presumably the same Canadas that had been at Eccleston mere, and by September it had moved to Budworth mere in Cheshire. Coincidentally, an escaped female Redhead that had been at Eccleston mere in May 1996, was also later seen at Budworth mere.

In August 1997 a Red breasted goose spent two weeks at the mere with a large flock of Greylags, before it and the Greylags moved to Martin mere. The Red breasted goose later joined feral Barnacles and then wild Pink feet at Martin mere.