Seven Goose Special

With half the family away in the Lakes for the weekend, and Sol in the middle of GCSE mock revision, I was largely free to spend the weekend birding. 

Saturday 31st January

Having waved off the lasses, I headed down to North Duffield Carrs to check out the goings on. Water was on the rise again after recent rainfall, with torrents streaming over the floodbank on to the ings. Garganey Hide was still above the water level but for how long I don't know. 

 Three drake Scaup were still present, two of which are almost in adult-like plumage now, with silvery backs, and glossy heads, whilst the third is a way behind, still looking dark and mottled with only a few adult-type feathers coming through on the mantle. The floods were full of Wigeon and Teal, with Shoveler, Pintail, Mallard and Gadwall sprinkled among them, plus a few Pochards and Tufted Ducks, and a single drake Goldeneye. Good numbers of Lapwings line the floodbanks, flushing easily as they evade the hunting Marsh Harriers. No sign of the White-tailed Eagle though; it seems to have gone for good.

Up the east side, there were no geese around East Cottingwith, apart from the noisy local Egyptians, so I went down to Ellerton churchyard, where I spied a large flock of Pink-footed Geese in the usual field on the far side. I grilled the flock looking for White-fronts or Tundra Beans, but instead found a quintet of Barnacle Geese busily feeding. I've not idea if these birds are wild, but they could have conceivably come in from the Netherlands, along with the White-fronts and Beans.  I eyed the eagle's favourite large Ash tree, with a little melancholy; I am not sure how long it will be before I see another one of those in the LDV. Out of nowhere, two Russian White-fronted Geese appeared on the flood in front of me, swimming about with the Whooper Swans, looking a little bewildered.

I had to get back to take Sol into town, so I headed back. 

Later, with errands run, I headed back down to Duff. Two Tundra Bean Geese flew across the flood and landed on the right hand side. Really cool geese, with quite a different jizz to Pink-feet, with hefty black beaks, with a neat orange band across the tip. The generally mid-brown plumage lacked the contrasting pale grey wing coverts of Pink-feet too and showed off the neat white edging to the coverts, and the big orange feet and legs stood out even at a distance. Not much else was going on, so I tried Thorganby where I saw an early glimpse of spring - two Oystercatchers - and then the roost at Wheldrake, which required a long wade in waders and yielded zilch, so I went home well before dark.

So, all in all, I had seen seven species of goose, within 20 miles of home: Barnacle, Canada, Egyptian, Greylag, Pink-footed, Russian White-fronted and Tundra Bean. Not bad! Just need a Brent to wander over from the Humber now.