Love 'em or hate 'em

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Visit any waterhole in the Kruger Park and you’re guaranteed to find a ubiquitous Egyptian goose. Native to Africa and widespread over the continent, the birds have also been introduced to the US and Europe where they’re admired as an ornamental species.

Despite a variety of predators including fish eagles, jackals, monitors and crocodiles, Egyptian geese breed prolifically and their numbers are often the cause of their bad reputation. They’re not popular on golf courses where they congregate in masses and their soiling of the greens is cause for complaint. On the Noordhoek Common, in the Western Cape, I once stopped counting when I reached the 100 mark.

If you’re the owner of a thatch roofed home your feeling towards the birds is probably far from friendly. They’ve been known to strip thatch from dwellings to use in nest building. These nests, unlike other waterfowl, can be found in trees, on steeples and on buildings. I once observed a clutch of goslings drop like stones, one by one, from a three-story balcony onto a concrete pavement where a protective mother herded them off. That they survived, astounded me.

Egyptian geese are also very territorial. At a waterhole one evening, I watched a solitary bird hold a large flock of guinea fowl at. bay. Charging at them, wings flapping, put the fowl into a panic and they retreated time and time again into the brush. After 30 minutes, I left and the guinea fowl were still thirsty.

However, one cannot but admire the magnificence and character of the birds. At full stretch, as in this picture, they’re splendid creatures. The black and white of the wings blends beautifully with the browns, orange and greys of the rest of the bird, while the prominent orange eye matches the colour on the back of the neck of a sexually mature bird. It’s no wonder that they are frequently the subject of art and sculpture.

While Egyptian geese don’t rank as a favourite of mine, there are times when I change my mind.