It is very safe to assume that on 26 March 2025 the pictured grassy “runway” experienced more landings, take-offs and taxiings than did Flinders Island’s airport.
At the airport each such action was a “one at a time” affair; in the paddock, invariably, each such event simultaneously involved a pair of partners-for-life.
The featured photo and the one below were taken within a few seconds of each other, and they show the same couple.
This video tells the story of this species, and includes audio of these very noisy birds’ honks.
Cape Barren Geese are generally reckoned to be members of a single species and to be the sole members of their genus.
Two subspecies are recognised.
Those who live on the eastern side of Australia are all classified as Cereopsis novaehollandiae novaehollandiae.
The other subspecies is Cereopsis novaehollandiae grisea – the Recherche Cape Barren goose.
Also known as the Cape Barren goose (southwestern), it nests only on the Recherche Archipelago, off Esperance, but grazes on the nearby mainland.
The WA geese are generally larger, individually.
Their number, however, is very much smaller – the Recherche subspecies is probably “our” planet’s rarest goose.
Discover more here.
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