Toulouse geese in Exeter

I spent Christmas in Exeter and had a great time watching the Toulouse geese on the river Exe, which I visited several times.

On my first visit, a few of the geese were swimming along the river.  Below are three of the white geese.

There was a mixture of white and brown/grey geese in the water.

My next visit was in the morning on Christmas Day, when I came across a number of the geese waddling along the towpath at the edge of the river.

 I loved this pair of geese standing at the water's edge.

A group of the geese wandered across the path and waddled over the edge of the bank and into the water.

Two of the white geese marched across the towpath.

This small group spent some time admiring the grassy bank at the other side of the path.

This large brown Toulouse goose looks as though it is preparing to hold the carol service later in the day at Exeter Cathedral.  The young Herring gull looked rather bemused at the whole gathering and stared out across the river.

I love these large fat geese waddling slowly along the towpath.

This photograph shows a close-up of the head and neck of one of the geese.  I think it actually looks rather pretty!

This white goose has attitude!

Then the geese decided they had done enough waddling around and they all got into the river and swam off.

Christmas Eve - Toulouse geese in Exeter

This Christmas I went with a group of friends to Exeter and on Christmas Eve, went for a morning walk with some of them.  We went down to the Quay and walked along the River Exe as far as the first bridge, where we crossed over the river and then walked back to the Quay.  At the end of the walk I was sitting with three of my friends outside a cafe overlooking the river.  My coffee had just arrived when I saw a group of white domestic geese on the river, so I grabbed my camera and left my coffee to go cold while I took some photos.

There were also some geese with brown feathers and, when I got back home after Christmas, I looked them up on the internet.  I believe that they were Toulouse geese.

This pair look very snooty - swimming along with their beaks in the air.

 Before lunch on Christmas Day I went back down to the river with a friend.  This time the geese were having a Christmas party on the towpath.  They were honking and honking and honking and honking!

This pair looked like a courting couple.  They were getting quite friendly and, maybe, exchanging Christmas kisses.  Where's the mistletoe?

Their friends were giving admiring glances to the river.

Other friends were more keen on the grassy bank.

Here are two goose-stepping white geese!

I love the pose of this big fat goose-stepping goose.  I thought he looked like a vicar getting ready to read the Christmas sermon.

The congregation came waddling along the towpath.

Some of the geese then decided to go for a swim.

This goose was not sure what I was up to, crouching down by it.  It gave me the evil eye before waddling off to join its friends in the water.

I got another unfriendly stare from this big white goose.  I have never seen this type of goose before, so I was quite thrilled.  It made a nice change from the hundreds of mute swans that are found on the river Exe in Exeter.

Eventually most of the gang jumped into the river and swam off - probably heading somewhere exciting for Christmas lunch.

Norfolk wildlife

I am still trying to catch-up with posts on my blog and am now up to just after mid-April when I went to East Anglia for a few days.  The following photographs were taken during a short walk along the River Yare in the outskirts of Norwich.

There I saw an aggressive Mute Swan with it's wings up in the air.

A female Mallard on the bank of the river was protesting quite loudly.

Well she might as she was being surrounded by several Mallard drakes.

On the river, swimming alongside a Mute swan, was quite a strange-looking Mallard drake with long curly tail feathers.

I believe he is a hybrid Mallard/Northern Pintail mix.

Across the river, standing on the roof of a shed, was a white dove.  There was a dovecote nearby.

A day later I went for another walk in Wroxham/Hoveton, which are in the Norfolk Broads.

There were more aggressive Mute swans there - I guess it was the season for aggression!

A robin obligingly posed for me at eye level on the branch of the tree at the side of the boardwalk at the edge of the river.

It was very pretty along the river.  Tree cutting had been taking place on the opposite side of the river and logs were nearly piled up.  I love the reflection of the trees in the water.

A swan was sailing elegantly in the distance.

Another Mute swan accompanied me on my walk along the path at the side of the river.

So did a very attentive Greylag goose.  They were both expecting to be fed but, sadly, I had nothing with me that was suitable for giving them.

As I was in an area of the Norfolk Broads, every so often a cruiser sailed by.

Here a couple of aggressive Mute swans are sailing hastily past the neat piles of logs on the opposite bank.

There was only a short walk possible along the river and I came to this handy sign at the point of no return!

I had no option but to turn round and repeat my steps.  Back on the boardwalk I came across a singing robin - possibly the same friendly bird that I had met when I began my walk.

As I was sitting on a bench in order to eat my lunch, I saw a male blackbird gathering lunch for his family hidden in the bushes.  He certainly had managed to collect a beakful!

Later the same day I went for a walk in a local nature reserve - Thorpe Marshes.  To get to the reserve, I had to cross the railway line and here is the large local train.

Unfortunately there was not much wildlife around within viewing distance and I really needed a pair of binoculars, which I did not have with me.  There was a very informative board by the lagoon, which showed all the birds that I was not seeing!

A couple of the usual suspects sailed past a fallen tree on the river Yare.

Another cruiser headed along the river and past the bare-branched trees.

At the end of the walk, in the distance, there were a couple of Mallards with their large brood of baby ducklings.  Once again, too far away for a decent photograph - but at least this one reminds me of them swimming across the river.