Rare migrating geese spotted on fish pond probably lost their flock

Two rare geese, which experts believe were separated from their flock during migration from Siberia to Hunan , have been spotted in Hong Kong for the first time.

The lesser white-fronted geese were first seen on Monday last week at fish ponds managed by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, 1km from Lok Ma Chau station.

The company's ecological consultants contacted the Bird Watching Society, which confirmed the birds were still there on Saturday.

The society's waterbird monitoring programme co-ordinator, Yu Yat-tung, said the geese were classified as vulnerable in the early 1990s. Their global population now stands at between 28,000 and 33,000, of which 20,000 are found in Asia.

The biggest threat to their survival are hunters and despite a ban, their close resemblance to the common greater white-fronted goose makes it difficult to distinguish them from a distance. The common type has a yellow beak, while the rarer ones have a pink beak and a gold rim around their eyes

'The two young geese were born this summer and it remains to be seen if the geese will stay or can survive,' Mr Yu said.