Sunday 22 December 2013

Nailed him at last - PINK-FOOTED GOOSE

SUNDAY 22 DECEMBER
 
A colder day with long clear spells and a gradually freshening SW wind; the forecast rain did not arrive until after dark but follows several days of heavy rain that has now started to fill the reservoirs quite quickly.


Pink-footed Goose with 15 Greylag Geese in field near car park at Wilstone



















 My limited birding today was restricted to TRING RESERVOIRS where the adult PINK-FOOTED GOOSE was still present and finally giving itself up (both Ian Williams and I photographing it for the first time - see images above).......
 
Unlike yesterday, when it was highly mobile and constantly moving fields, today it spent virtually all of daylight feeding with 15 Greylag Geese in the field immediately north of WILSTONE RESERVOIR, between the car park and the new overflow. The other 61 Greylag Geese (and 1 Atlantic Canada) spent time again at COLLEGE FARM in MARSWORTH.
 
At STARTOP'S END RESERVOIR, a flock of 11 RED-CRESTED POCHARD included this pale female variant, 






...whilst on WILSTONE, the highlights included the continuing LITTLE STINT, 3 COMMON REDSHANK, 298 EUROPEAN GOLDEN PLOVER, 1 BLACK-TAILED GODWIT and 1 Little Egret. I did not count the wildfowl and left Steve Rodwell to go through the roosting Black-headed & Common Gulls.
 

Yesterday afternoon, Roy Hargreaves had a brief Bittern at MARSWORTH REEDBED, where also just 80 Corn Buntings roosted, around 2,500 Common Starlings, 5 Reed Buntings and 5 Water Rails - Steve Rodwell also had 3 Woodcock at dusk recently there

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