Discussed before on this blog, here are the photos of the various Greylag/domestic goose variants which have been in the area for a couple of years. Seen in 2009, at East Fenton (6/9), Gosford Bay (1/11), Gosford ponds (15/11) and East Fortune (22/11) and generally at the latter location into 2011. Photos right from Gosford c/o Abbie.
Whitest bird has vague resemblance to Snow Goose (and has been reported as such) but flight feathers are brownish at best, not black. The second bird, header pic above, is basically grey all over with white face and the last, brownish also with some white on face, I suspect could by a hybrid with a domestic type Greylag or Swan Goose. Possibly another individual like this, plus some Canada x Greylags are still seen occasionally.
Nicer geese below, part of the mixed Greylag/Pinkfoot flock at Fortoun Bank on Sunday 8 Feb 2011. Over 800 Greylags were at the potatoes provided by East Fortune ponds during the hard weather at end of last year, often accompanied by varying numbers of Pinkfeet. The domestic variants have been present throughout.
Four all white domestics turned up at East Fortune in September 2013, shown below in flight, and some were seen there amd elsewhere (e.g. Tyninghame) for several years though numbers dropped:
In November 2018 the white geese were accompanied by a similar bird with ghost Greylag plumage but all white head and a white flank stripe:
Two birds from 2022 appended here - a proper leucistic bird from Midlothian on 4 October c/o Geoff Morgan and a rather domestic looking individual with Canadas at Chapel on 25 September.
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