The call you will hear is that of the Greylag goose, you should try and familiarise yourself with the calls of the quarry species as they can be an excellent aid to identification under severe wildfowling conditions.
The Greylag is the largest of the "Grey" goose quarry species (75 - 90 cm) and is the ancestor of the familiar farmyard goose. The best Identification features are its bright Orange bill, the loud rasping call and its palish appearance. It has a very pale grey area on its forewing both above and below which is very conspicuous in flight. Its head and neck when compared to that of the Pink footed goose are much heavier and paler. The winter migrants usually have pinkish legs but some "feral" & wild stock may have Orange legs. Migrants usually arrive from Iceland in late September to mid October the largest numbers over-wintering in Scotland, 95,000 to 100,000 have been counted in record years. Greylag are not generally a long lived bird, the average being about 4 years old. They can be found in most areas of open land and also frequent disused gravel pits, country parks etc, pairs mate for life as with most goose species. The Greylag feeds mainly on grass, grain, potatoes and growing cereals in winter. Keep an eye on stubble fields in the area during September, October and November. Watch the winter cereals and grass areas in December, January and February.
Here we can clearly see the pale grey upper forewing and orange bill which are excellent aids to identification of the Greylag
Greylags in flight
Greylag geese often graze the foreshore vegetation