Cape Barren Geese, Phillip Island

Cape Barren Geese Cereopsis novaehollandiae, Fishers Wetland, Phillip Island

I find Cape Barren Geese to be really interesting birds. Winter sees them in pairs at Phillip Island with evidence of nesting.

5 things I have learnt about Cape Barren Geese!

1. They are able to drink brackish water enabling survival on small offshore islands
2. There have responded well to various measures to ensure their survival after a phase of being considered endangered. They remain one of the rarest geese in the world but in their stronghold they are increasingly common.
3. They may disperse to the mainland in summer but return to offshore islands (particularly in the Bass Strait) to breed
4. There is a second population centred on the Recherche group of islands in Western Australia
5. Their name harks from the Bass Strait island where European sightings were first documented - Cape Barren Island. Due to difficulties providing services to this remote location government policy in the 1950s saw Aboriginal inhabitants subject to the forceful removal of their children - now referred to as the stolen generations.

Cape Barren Geese rarely swim so this bird caught my eye. As it happens the water was so shallow it was actually wading!

This was taken as a setting-the-scene shot with the camera phone. Standing on a park bench to take the shot was enough for this female to decide she had had enough of me! Later on I saw that she was nesting (below). The nest is in the grasses at the water's edge just above her left wing in the shot above.

I have read that the male bird builds the nest and the female incubates the eggs.

Sharing with Wild Bird Wednesday

Bird on!