Jonathan: My usual morning rounds on the croft have recently included a tour of the maternity units: two little enclosures where geese sit perched on a pile of straw, goose down and a clutch of eggs – inside a white plastic fish box.  I take food to them so as to minimize the time they spend off the nest: not only will the eggs tend to get cold, but most importantly the ravens will swoop down and steal an egg from the nest (a lot are lost that way).

There’s also a wise old goose in the low hen house with the hens – she’s learnt from experience. Well, at my first goose stop this morning there was Mum sat proudly on the remaining two of her eight eggs: all the other six had turned into noisy little balls of yellowy-green fluff! It won’t be long now before the other geese follow with theirs. Here’s some pictures of Mum and her babies, and the happy family.