OUR recent story regarding the appearance of a rare nene goose in a Dorset garden has garnered several responses from people who hope the bird may be theirs.

The breed, dubbed the world’s rarest goose, appeared in the garden of a family near Shaftesbury at the end of February and has been happily staying ever since.

Due to the rare nature of the breed, the Wetlands and Wildfowl Trust confirmed a nene would have come from a private collection.

And since our story was published, several people have come forward in the hope they may be able to confirm the bird was theirs.

One was from Silton, near Gillingham, who said they previously believed a fox attack had taken their two nene – but now hoped perhaps one had escaped to Shaftesbury.

The second, Lydia Watson, said she had two nene stolen from her home in Buckinghamshire overnight on January 20 this year.

She said she hoped perhaps the Dorset bird was one of the pair of males she lost.

However, the nene in Dorset is not ‘ringed’, so would prove difficult to identify as belonging to any particular collection.

Your New Blackmore Vale has passed on the details of those concerned and will let you know of any developments.