I took this picture of a pair of Canada geese at a local pond. This pond was a favourite haunt for me as a child. The pond, which is known as the Common Pond, is in the small market town of Hailsham in Sussex, England, where I live. It was originally created in the13th century on what was common land, that is land that ordinary people could graze their live stock. The local council obtained it in the early 20th century. My father told me that the pond was enlarged during World War 2 and used to test amphibious vehicles before the D-Day landings. I cannot find any written records of this but I have heard this story from other people older than me, so it may well be true.
Going back to the Canada Geese. As a child these only seemed to appear during the winter so I always thought they had migrated here. But over the years they started to stay. I was checking whether they originally migrated here or not online and found out that they were actually introduced into England in the 1700s. The first were introduced into St James's Park in London. Since the end of the second world war, they have gradually established their presence across the country, particularly in towns, and are now so common that in some places they are considered a nuisance, mainly because of the mess they leave and there reputation for being aggressive when they are looking after their young. They can also cause significant damage to crops when they gather in large numbers.
There is no doubt that they have been successful on the Common Pond which is now overrun with them. I used to see a number of mute swans nesting on the island in the middle of the pond, but it would seem that they have been pushed out by the sheer number of geese that occupy it.
I don't dislike Canada Geese, but they do seem to have pushed some of our native birds out in areas where they have established themselves.
All photos are my own work.