The goose that thinks it's a duck...

We met this confused greylag when we were out walking in Weardale this afternoon. It seemed to think that it was a parent of these mallard ducklings and attacked anything that came near them, including me and someone's dogs that got curious about the infant mallards. The mother mallard seemed perfectly happy with this interspecific child-minding service and led the way, with the goose bringing up the rear.

Out of the Blue...

There we were, high on the moors between Wolsingham and Hamsterley, when we heard the distant clamour of geese ........... then these two greylags hove into view ......

..... passed a few feet overhead with a lot of excited 'honking' and then disappeared over the horizon.