Wild geese in the UK: who is honking overhead?
Every autumn the sky fills with skeins of geese. This guide helps you work out which kind you are looking at, where to see them in winter and what the law says.
Seven geese you are likely to meet
Britain has resident geese that stay all year and winter visitors that arrive from the Arctic. Some are truly wild, some were introduced and some are a mixture. Once you know a few key features, you can name most of them from a car park or a hide.
| Goose | Quick clue | When |
|---|---|---|
| Greylag | Largest and bulkiest; the ancestor of most farmyard geese | All year in many places; wild birds in Scotland |
| Pink-footed | Smaller grey goose with pink legs and a dark head | Winter visitor, in huge flocks |
| White-fronted | White patch around the bill and bold black belly bars; orange legs | Winter visitor |
| Canada | Black neck and head with a white chin strap | All year |
| Barnacle | Black and white face and neck, grey back | Winter visitor, plus feral birds |
| Brent | Small, dark, with a short black bill and a small white neck patch | Winter visitor on the coast |
| Egyptian | Brown eye-patch and a pale, long-legged build; more like a shelduck | All year in parts of England |
Guides on this site
- Grey geese ID: greylag, pink-footed and white-fronted geese, the ones people find hardest.
- Canada, barnacle, brent and Egyptian geese: the black-and-white and unusual ones.
- Where to see wild geese: reserves with winter flocks that we have checked against the RSPB and WWT.
- V formation and migration: why geese fly in a V and where they come from.
- Geese and the law: what protects them and what to do if geese cause trouble.
How to identify a goose in four steps
- Size and shape. Is it a big, heavy goose (greylag), a mid-sized grey one (pink-foot) or a small dark one (brent)?
- Head and bill. Look at colour and pattern. A white forehead, a black neck, a white face and a pink bill all point to different species.
- Legs. Pink, orange or black legs help to separate grey geese.
- Behaviour and place. Coastal saltmarsh brings brent geese. Flooded fields in winter with thousands of grey birds suggest pink-feet. A town park pond with a few birds is often Canada geese.
Calls
Geese are noisy, and calls are a quick way to tell them apart in flight. Greylags give a deep, honking cackle, pink-footed geese a higher, more musical "wink-wink", and Canada geese a loud, trumpeting honk. The BTO has a video on identifying grey geese on land, in flight and by their calls, which is the best way to learn them.
Some background
The RSPB lists several geese as Amber or Red under the Birds of Conservation Concern system. Brent geese are Amber, because large numbers gather at just a few coastal sites. White-fronted geese are Red. Their wintering areas need protection. Seeing geese is a pleasure, but wintering flocks are sensitive to disturbance, so watch from hides and footpaths, keep dogs on a lead and never try to flush birds into flight.
Geese, swans and ducks: where geese fit
Geese sit between ducks and swans in size and shape. They have longer necks than ducks, shorter necks than swans, and they graze on land far more than either. If a large waterbird is walking across a field pulling at grass, it is much more likely to be a goose than a duck. Swans, which are bigger still, tend to feed in the water, and ducks mostly dabble or dive. Learning that simple split helps you to narrow things down even before you look at feathers.
Equipment
You need little: binoculars (8x42 is a common choice), warm clothing and a notebook or phone. Early morning and late afternoon are best, when geese fly out to feed or in to roost. A flask of tea helps.
Frequently asked questions
What is the commonest goose in the UK?
Greylag and Canada geese are the geese you are most likely to meet on a local lake all year round. Pink-footed geese gather in the biggest winter flocks at sites such as WWT Martin Mere, where a record 45,800 were counted.
Why do geese honk?
Geese call to keep in contact with each other in flight and on the ground, and to warn of danger.
When do geese arrive in the UK?
Winter visitors such as pink-footed geese arrive in autumn. WWT Martin Mere reports arrivals around the start of winter, and October is among the best months to see them there.