Egyptian geese are considered an invasive species but they happily live and breed here
White fronted Geese happily mingle with Graylegs and Koots
in winter you sometimes see a shiny white Emden goose as member of a flock of Graylegs
some Grayleg Geese live here year-round, but in winter the numbers increase substantially
since 1975 the Greater Canada Goose lives, breeds and thrives in the Netherlands
a male Tufted Duck shows off his crest
a pair of Gadwell ducks
Domestic Ducks live here in the wild
Mallards are very common here and come in all sorts of colors
another hybrid goose with a less distinct descendance
Birds of the uiterwaarden (1): Swans, Geese and Ducks
With their sheltered, nutrient-rich ponds on either side of the River Maas, the Hedelse Bovenwaard and Empelse Waard reserves offer an
ideal biotope for waterfowl.
And these feathered swimmers are more than happy to use it. Swans, Geese, Ducks, Coots,
Moorhen and Grebes live here year round to feed, breed, give birth and raise their young.
In winter the floodplains and
ponds are a favorite foraging stop for large numbers of migratory birds like Whooper Swans, White fronted Geese and Barnacle Geese.
Tufted ducks, Gadwalls, Shelducks and the occasional Goosander also show up.
I use a Canon SX70 HS camera
to shoot the birds. This device may not always produce super-sharp images, but the extreme focal length of 1365 mm allows you
to get close to the animals from a proper distance.
The relatively small size and low weight, combined with a very good image
stabilization cancels the need for a tripod and allows you to wander around freely.
The photos are from
2021 onwards.
Mute Swans are very protective of their young. You better keep your distance...
Whooper Swans, together with scores of Geese, drop by in winter
Geese are no xenophobes and interbreed happily.. This hybrid descends from an Emden and a Grayleg Goose
a flock of Barnacle Geese drift by. Notice the two White fronted intruders
a Shelducks shows of his colors
I only got one long-distance quick shot at this female Goosander