For long the "top goose" in the area, nesting and rearing young particularly on the Ornamental Waters and Heronry Pond in Wanstead Park and on Jubilee Pond and Alexandra Lake on Wanstead Flats. For many years there was an annual programme of culling the potential offspring by means of destroying (or dipping) the eggs so they would not hatch, performed under the auspices of Epping Forest. However, numbers always seemed to generally increase, as the birds seemed to be part of a mobile populatrion that also included other waters such as in Valentines Park and perhaps Victoria Park.

At times, assemblies of up to 200 birds might be seen on Wanstead Flats, although over the years the numbers of Greylag Geese have increased and the two species mingle to some extent on the waters and also whilst grazing on the Flats. In fact this mingling is sometimes taken to other extremes where individuals of the two species pair up, and even manage to have hybrid offspring.