Grillers In The Mist

Aldcliffe birding's been a bit on the predictable side of late. The last three or four visits have seen me looking at pretty much the same birds, in the same places.

But today was different. Today we had persistent mizzle. Today we had apparent 'movement' of birds.
Things started out as normal; Freeman's Pools was hosting a few tufted duck and goldeneye along with the regular residents. 150 or so pink-footed geese were grazing on the drumlins.

Frog Pond had its attendant wigeon flock - and the drake shoveler, lately faithful to Darter Pool, had relocated to this larger water. In the fields, curlew were feeding and with them a couple of fine black-tailed godwits (my first on the patch this year).
A further 9 black-tailed godwits were frantically feeding on the Flood where a sure sign of impending spring included a flock of 9 meadow pipits.

Two dinky jack snipe were still being faithful to Snipe Bog. A scan over the estuary revealed little and so I opted to walk along Dawson's Bank in case anything was lurking along the tideline or on the marsh.

Eventually, through the mist I could make out a few geese. As I approached I scanned through the flock, regularly wiping my drizzle drenched binoculars with a bit of soggy tissue. I wondered if there might be something else tagging along with the 850 or so pinkfeet present.
Then I spotted it; a lone Canada goose. The conditions were pretty rotten and so I decided to get the 'scope out so that I could give them a good grilling.

Todd's Canada Goose - Aldcliffe

Aware of the Todd's Canada goose that has been seen in Norfolk, and latterly the Fylde, this winter I knew this bird was worth checking out.
Problem was, as I looked at it I realised that I didn't really know what one should look like! Sure, I was aware of some of the features but this thing didn't wholly fit what I thought it should. It certainly had a few characters good for the subspecies but it looked a bit too pale breasted and that head-shape wasn't as 'whooper swan-like' as I'd expected. On the plus side, it appeared to have a dark brownish mantle without any pale fringes to the scapulars, tertials etc, and the neck shape didn't quite look right for our typical feral Canada geese.
I tried to grab a couple of snaps through the murk and decided to go home and have a read up on the identification of Todd's, or interior Canada goose.

Mediterranean gull - Lune Estuary

As I arrived at Marsh Point I had a quick look at the gulls on the River Lune and soon found a smart adult winter Mediterranean gull - a lot bloody easier to identify!
Once I got home I had a look through a few books and a bit of online checking had me baffled even more. So, I called Pete Marsh and let him know about the goose. He called back later to confirm it as the Todd's. Phew.

That's the brilliant thing about birding, there's always plenty to baffle and always lots to learn!

Jon 

Rare Goose Revisited

White-fronted & red-breasted goose, Pilling

I managed an hour and a half or so down at Aldcliffe on Wednesday where the most notable thing was the reduction in the number of geese.  Just c550 pinkfeet were grazing on the drumlins.
A group of 7 adult whooper swans were on bathing and preening in one of the flashes on Aldcliffe Marsh, before they flew off westwards.
There was quite a bit of skylark movement throughout with 1s & 2s plus a flock of 11 going in all directions.
Ultra-scarce this winter, a single rock pipit feeding in the marsh channels was a nice find and the drake shoveler was once again on Darter Pool.

I had a good walk around the patch this morning but it was pretty quiet. The reduced goose flock was still on the hill and the shoveler was remaining faithful to Darter Pool.
Freeman's Pools continues to host a handful each of goldeneye and tufted duck, plus the usual 20ish coot and a couple of little grebes.
The peregrine pair were again keeping sentinel on the marsh.
The drake shoveler was still present and a small number of skylarks were again passing over.

I walked back up through Aldcliffe village and along the patch toward the Fairfield Orchard. The annual influx of redwing and fieldfare was well in evidence with around 120 birds in a mixed flock by Admiralty Wood.
As I trudged along the muddy path the wintering finch flock got up from the arable field and landed in the small tree by the path. A female brambling was among the expected chaffinches and linnets - the first I've seen locally this winter.

After a good dousing by rain and hail I headed home for a warming brew. Suitably refreshed, I decided to pop over to Pilling to have another look at the red-breasted goose which was apparently showing well in fields by Backsands Lane.
As I passed by Conder I was treated to the sight of a great egret as it flew over the road and heading in the direction of Glasson. This bird has been seen in the area a number of times in recent weeks.

Red-breasted goose

I arrived at the goose-spot and soon picked out the dinky rarity from the flock of pink-footed and 23 Eurasian white-fronted geese. It showed brilliantly in good light and I was able to get a couple of record shots using my compact digital camera held up to my 'scope. My last visit to see this bird was something of a mad-dash and we had distant views of the birds so to see it closer and with more time on my hands was a real joy. I still want it to make its way over to the Lune though...

Jon