Wednesday 25 March 2015

Wild Bird Wednesday 140 - Cape Barren Goose

These are the last of my shots from my recent trip to Phillip Island and Churchill Island - the aim of the game was not really bird pictures, so I'm more the pleased with the the species I managed to get decent pictures of.

These birds are Cape Barren Geese - Cereopsis novaehollandiae, which means New Holland Wax Face.  New Holland is an old name for Australia, and presumably the 'wax face' refers to the yellow around the beak.

After a little shuffling along on my bum I was able to get pretty close to these birds - although I did end up with a damp rear as a result - oh, the sacrifice!

I seem to be developing a bit of a style here - face on shots and birds going yoga!

Hope you like these rather splendid birds.





So now it's your turn.  Click on the blue button and off you go.

If anybody has had any experience with the portable hides / blinds that you pull over your head a bit like a cloak or blanket I would appreciate your thoughts on their usefulness.  SM

51 comments:

  1. what a cool goose! like he's wearing a nose guard. :)

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  2. What a delightful Goose.

    Sorry Stewart I have no experience using a cape camouflage outfit.

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  3. That is a real nice looking goose. I really enjoyed those pictures.

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  4. What a neat looking goose. You did get some great shots! Worth the damp bum!

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  5. Very nice looking geese they are too. Much better than the Greylag and Canadas here.

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  6. Super...acrobatic AND handsome!!!

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  7. Great shots of a bird i have not seeen before ,Nette

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  8. Ah, a great looking goose indeed, Stewart!! And, yes, definitely worth a damp bum!!

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  9. Makes you wonder if the people who developed Yoga got the idea from one of these extrordinary geese. All geese seem to do this and it is perfect how they are able to move their center of gravity over the exact spot that gives them balance. It's in the genes ... so how do they get so lucky. This is a handsome goose, very unique from my point of view. Well worth a little bumm rubbing, I'd say. Be well, Stewart ...

    Andrea @ From The Sol

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  10. A beauty for sure. And since I just got back from a morning Yoga class I noticed the excellent poses right away!

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  11. Terrific pics! Like the one where he's dozing at the end. Looks tranquil.

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  12. What a gorgeous bird !! Great shots !!
    Greetings

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  13. Ohhhmmmm.......Way to sacrifice the bottom to get these great shots!

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  14. Great photos of the geese. That's a bird I would really like to see.

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  15. Never seen a goose like that before. Very cool bird!

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  16. dat houden zij veel langer vol dan wij.

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  17. cool bird. I think he stubbed his toe...then had to take a nap from limping around...huh

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  18. Great shots Stewart. Our local WWT reserve have a couple of these in their captive collection.

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  19. Really lovely bird...and definitely doing yoga! :-)

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  20. Very nice looking goose, fantastic face to face shots worthy of getting down on your bum for!

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  21. A handsome goose! The odd color on the beak is pretty cool.
    Really nice photos Stewart...

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  22. Beautifully full feathers, I like the ones on the back with the black dots on them. The yellow on the bill is pretty too, especially in the straight-on shot. The sleeping bird photo is amazing too. What you photographers won't do for a good shot!

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  23. What a handsome devil, Yoga or not!...:)JP

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  24. Such a beautiful bird, I love the last shot.

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  25. Very interesting bird! I like the beak especially!

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  26. They are beautiful Geese.

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  27. Such a beautiful bird! Great photos! Its been so long since I posted something here, but now I do again :))

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  28. Awesome! Very unusual look goose. :)
    Thanks for hosting.

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  29. Very handsome! They almost look like giant pigeons (around the face) rather than geese.

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  30. You were rewarded with some great shots of this interesting and unusual bird!

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  31. Your goose has such a tiny beak!

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  32. A beautiful goose, love the patterns on the feathers. It seems more compact than most of the geese I've seen. Very nice. Glad you found birds when you weren't even looking for them. Thanks for hosting!

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  33. Beautiful goose!

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  34. Never seen this goose before in the wild and you got great shots of him. Thanks for hosting and link up.

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  35. Hi Stewart,
    Great images of this Cape Barren Goose.
    Photo 3 is my favorite.
    Best regards, Irma

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  36. What small price to pay: your images of these wax faced geese are beautiful. Thanks! Greetings, Jo

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  37. Great shots! And what a great old name!

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  38. Thanks Stewart for your sacrifice. Totally worth it, especially for your readers. That's a very cool and gorgeous goose!

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  39. The close up shot is full of wonderful detail of the face.
    Great captures Stewart!

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  40. "Rather fine" indeed, Stewart! They remind me a bit of our American Coots. Wonderful shots and love the fact that you were willing to rough it a bit to get them :)

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  41. That is a really attractive goose Stewart - rather different from the northern geese I am used to seeing all winter. You managed to get great shots despite your wet bottom.

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  42. Handsome Goose..Love the coloring..Worth the yoga to get those shots..They seem pretty docile for a goose..

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  43. He's wonderful, Stewart! The sleeping shot is my favorite!

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  44. Hi Stewart,
    Great images of this Cape Barren Goose. Never seen anything like this before. And doing yoga..well it is priceless!

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  45. Yes, I can understand why they said wax face.

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  46. Love those yoga poses! Thanks for the smile.

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  47. What a beautiful goose! I would not have known it was a goose had I not read your entire post! Yes, it does look like it's doing a yoga pose. =)

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  48. A very attractive bird, Stewart- great shots!

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  49. this goose have a very sweet looking head. would love so see it for myself :)

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  50. Great shots of a really unique looking goose!

    And, Stewart, we really appreciate your sacrifice!
    (Photog's rule #1: be certain you take a towel to dry your bum.)

    All the best!
    -- Wally In Clear Cool Florida

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  51. Gorgeous shots Stewart! I had never seen these before until I visited Werribee Open Range Zoo in January.

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