Geese and Swans

 A week ago we drove south half an hour to Lake Eugenia, to check on the birdlife.

Lake Eugenia is a man-made lake, created in 1914 when the Beaver River was dammed to generate hydro.  There is still an active generating station here, but it's also surrounded by cottages.  And it's an important stopover for migratory waterfowl.  We could quickly see hundreds of Canada Geese, and one pair of Mute Swans (and some white dots in the distance which are probably also swans).

One of the closest swans conveniently lifted its head so we could clearly see the orange bill, labelling it a Mute Swan.  I was interested to see Canada Geese 'dabbling', seeking food on the shallow bottom of the lake with their tails in the air.  I've seen numerous species of ducks do this, but I can't remember seeing geese do it.

We do have both migratory geese and over-wintering geese.  By their numbers I think these must be migratory.  Most over-wintering geese have already paired up on small ponds, claiming their nesting sites for the summer.