A birding life spent largely in the London area and East Devon/West Dorset is not going to be packed with proper wild geese. So recent news of a flock of 34 European White-fronts in the Otter Valley north of Budleigh Salterton was definitely of interest to me, if only as a heads-up that there may be others about more locally. Certainly I didn't contemplate travelling over to see them.
I've just trawled through my scant records from 19 years of on/off birding down here to see how many times wild geese and I have crossed paths. This is what I found:
2005
Amazingly my first local bird was a juv Tundra Bean Goose. A bunch of us found it at Lower Bruckland Ponds on a Jan 1st 'big day' (or thought we did - it had actually been seen the previous day as well). It hung around for a while, and on 10th Jan I saw it on the Axe Estuary at Coronation Corner too.
On 25th Jan the soft calls of a flock of White-fronts distracted me from a Sibe Chiff hunt at Colyton WTW. I looked up as a flock of 30 birds flew over W, circled back E again (I am pretty sure they were contemplating touch-down) before eventually heading away W up the Coly Valley. Oh, for a camera in those days! Meanwhile that morning, Steve was discovering a pair of young Surf Scoters on the sea off Weston and trumping my geese quite severely!
2006
A fluctuating February flock of European White-fronts spent several days on Colyford Marsh, peaking at 15 birds.
2007
Two adult European White-fronts on Colyford Marsh again, for a few days in December.
2008
European White-front again, a single youngster on the Axe Estuary with 5 Greylags in March.
At this point it is beginning to look like wild geese are an annual thing for me, but no - I cannot find any others in my records. I know I did see at least one more - a Greenland White-front which Steve found on Colyford Marsh - but I'm not sure when. My next encounter with a genuine wild bird was a Pink-footed Goose at West Bay in October (I think) 2019, and another on the Axe and at East Bexington (almost certainly the same bird at both locations) in October 2020. And I think that's my lot.
So, when I unexpectedly finished all my pre-Xmas work in Seaton early this afternoon, and found myself thinking about where it might be nice to stop for lunch, er...
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Three of the 34 European White-fronts frequenting the Lower Otter
Restoration Project area. The habitat looks pretty good already, and is
greatly enhanced by the gentle laughter bubbling from this flock of beauties. |
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A few more, including some nicely barred adults. |
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Quite a neck on them when they're alert. |
Even at 14:15 the light was dismal on this grey day, but it was great to get at least a few shots as a memento of what is apparently the biggest flock of White-fronts in Devon in almost 40 years!
I do find this amazing. Less than 100 geese in 16 years! I genuinely never realised they were so scarce in the south west. I had more than that over my garden yesterday. Maybe 130 Pinks. I am guilty of looking upon them almost as sheep. My garden list has Pinks ( 1000s annually, seen most days from Late Sept to April if I am outside and even from inside the house when a larger flack winks over.) Greylags( small flocks annually) Barnacles ( 100s most years) and White fronts ( 2 once).
ReplyDeleteBean Geese are scarce here in the county, but annual, plus the usual Canadas. Ive had 2 Ross's Geese with Pinks and Barnacles in the village too.
I wont take them for granted as much in future!
Yes, apart from the ubiquitous Canadas, a few feral Greylags and the occasional suspect Barnacle, that is basically it. I read blogs like yours Stew, and tweets from darkest Norfolk and various points north, and marvel at the spectacle of all those proper wild geese. It is many years since I last witnessed a massive flock of Pinks going over, and heard that wonderful sound...
DeleteIt's a goose desert down here! 😄