A blog to share barn owl and other wildlife and general news about the Retreat and its environment.
Canada goose sitting on the nest, with gander patrolling
28. April 2026 - Wildlife
Canada geese have returned this year to nest in precisely the same location as last year, on the bank of one of our ponds and near to our Green Tara statue.
The wider angle photo shows the general area of the pond. The zoomed in crop show the gander patrolling in the pond, with the female goose sitting on the nest on the far bank of the pond.
The gander is quite fierce so it is not possible to see how many eggs are in the nest. Just after the photo above was taken the gander rushed towards the female to chase away a crow that had landed nearby and was walking towards the nest, perhaps to steal eggs.
Three pairs of geese arrived several weeks ago. Initially they appeared to socialise but only this pair seemed to settle and nest. Thereafter, especially once the female started brooding the eggs, the presence of the others was not tolerated and the gander threatened and chased them. Even when they were 100m away they were chased, and we haven't seen them at all the last few days.
