On the floodplain of the River Devon there is a particular field that greylag geese seem to favour. It has a marshy margin and the geese enjoy grazing on the grass by the water’s edge. They are always very wary birds though, and should one venture too close, they will take to the air with noisy ‘honks’ of indignation.

If these ‘honks’ sound familiar, then it is because our farmyard geese are directly descended from the greylag. Farm geese have played an important role in our cultural history and were much prized as a treat to feast upon on special occasions such as Christmas or Michaelmas Day (29 September).

Mrs Beeton in her famous 19th Century book on household management advised the keen cook to ‘select a goose with a clean white skin, plump breast, and yellow feet: if these latter are red, the bird is old. Should the weather permit, let it hang for a few days: by so doing, the flavour will be very much improved’.

Goose fat was also revered for its medicinal properties and was said to be good as an ointment for treating pains and aches, as well as alopecia.

If you hear geese in the sky with a more metallic rather than honking call, then these will be pink-footed geese, which are also common winter visitors to this area from their breeding grounds in Iceland and Greenland. Both greylags and pink-foots are prolific grazers and can be likened to the avian equivalent of the cow such is their efficiency at cropping grass. They also like to feed upon waste potatoes and turnips.

As a rule of thumb, both types of goose feed on farmland during the day and use established roosts at night, often on water – either fresh or tidal, with Gartmorn Dam and the inner Forth both being favoured locations.

Geese are the very epitome of our winter landscape and it is always inspirational to watch their v-shaped skeins flying high in the morning or evening sky.