Why are they called Canada Geese?

 It was impossible to get a conversation going, everyone was talking too much - Yogi Berra

Photo 1: Canada Geese at Brockhall Quarry, near Hereford (19/1/26)

First of all, let's dismiss the urban myth that Canada Geese were named after an ornithologist called John Canada. There is no evidence such a person existed and, in any case, the nomenclature for Canada geese has a purely geographical origin.

Carl Linnaeus formalised the name of Branta canadensis or geese from Canada in 1758. Although migratory birds, they seldom reach the United Kingdom by this route. Canada geese were introduced into Britain in 1665 by Charles II as part of his waterfowl collection in St James Park, London. From such small beginnings, Canada geese have proliferated and are now ubiquitous throughout the UK. The UK population of Canada geese is estimated to be between 150,000 and 200,000.

On a recent visit to the nature reserve at Brockhall Quarry, we came across a good number of Canada geese ...

Video 1: Canada Geese @ Brockhall Quarry (19/1/26)

... Mary estimated about 400. Brockhall Quarry (aka Sugwas Pools) is a few miles outside Hereford. It is not far from the SAS base at Credenhill where, coincidentally, the Met Office weather station, that I often refer to in my View from the Rear Garden series of posts, is located. The above video features a helicopter returning to its Credenhill base.