Wild Goose Chase

I went to Flachsee near Zurich to look at Geese. The Greylag Goose (Anser anser) can be seen commonly over Switzerland and the rest off Europe throughout the year.

But most geese choose to summer in the far north of Europe, and visit us rarely - in the winter, when things are a bit too tough at home. Feeding on an island in the middle of the lake I see two White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons) - with a blaze of white behind the bill - taking a break from the Siberian freeze.

Eurasian Beavers (Castor fiber) live at Flachsee. I'm not sure why they chopped down this tree - it seems far to big to be used for a dam. It could be that they want to harvest the branches of the subsequent coppice.