I saw a couple of these hanging around my house a few years ago and I didn’t know what they were.  It was the first time I’d seen them.

I posted a photo and asked if any of my Facebook friends could ID them.  A friend from England piped up: “Egyptian Goose! Richmond Park London is full of them as well as Canadian Geese.”

That was four years ago.

I hadn’t seen one around since.

Until last month.

I spotted this family swimming past the house; two adults, presumably mom and dad, and three youngsters.

Native to Africa south of the Sahara and the Nile Valley, they were domesticated by ancient Egyptians and were raised for food and extensively bred. Its popularity as an ornamental bird led to wide dispersion in western Europe, where escapees and  intentional releases have led to the establishment of wild populations.

The Florida Wildlife Commission webpage says they were first seen here in the 1960s, and adds,  “Species are present but not confirmed to be breeding. Population persists only with repeated introductions and/or escapes of individuals.”

I beg to differ.  According to the evidence paddling the waters behind my house, there’s some breeding going on.  I have a feeling it won’t be long before they become as ubiquitous here as those ugly and messy Muscovy ducks we seem to have everywhere.

At least the Muscovys are usually quiet. They generally murmur quietly to each other, but these geese emit a rapid fire staccato of honks that is pretty annoying.  Compared to the lazy occasional honk from a flock of Canadian geese overhead they sound like a frustrated road-rager caught in a traffic jam.  I found that out during a nice stretch of Florida winter in February when I left the windows open at night.  More effective than an alarm clock.

And the Muscovys are generally less aggressive.  Walk up to a family of Muscovys in a park and they’ll all come waddling over for a handout.  I doubt that would happen with Egyptians.  An unfortunate pelican who had the nerve to dive into the water for a fish about 30 yards from my little flock  the other day was attacked by one of the adults you see in my photo.  The goose actually batted the pelican back into the water as it struggled to take flight after catching the fish.

Good thing I probably won’t be around in 30 years when the Egyptians are as numerous as the Muscovys are now.  I wouldn’t dare step foot in a park and it’ll be too noisy to sleep.