Redshank flock, with turnstone
Redshank are roosting, heads tucked in but with an eye alert to predators. The flock gathers on a grassy shoal in a fresh-water lagoon, a few birds on the water’s edge- red legs visible. A somnolent male eider presides, all day it would seem. He’s still there as we return and watch from Bay Hide- a good view of different species roosting on the shoal. Redshank and turnstone take to the air for a moment, and quickly settle again. All day, the greatest number of birds we see is here.
Being on South Walney, looking out toward Piel Castle and watching the ebb and flow of the tide is mesmerising. Simply to be here, to hear birdsong and to glimpse the life of the place is a treat but the picture is far from simple. Home again, I enjoy all that I discover from zooming-in on images- what the camera saw and I could not at the time. South Walney is like an international airport hub with arrivals and departures so working out avian itineraries is a challenge. It's a refuelling stop so what will different species feed on, hunting, fishing or foraging?
Being on South Walney, looking out toward Piel Castle and watching the ebb and flow of the tide is mesmerising. Simply to be here, to hear birdsong and to glimpse the life of the place is a treat but the picture is far from simple. Home again, I enjoy all that I discover from zooming-in on images- what the camera saw and I could not at the time. South Walney is like an international airport hub with arrivals and departures so working out avian itineraries is a challenge. It's a refuelling stop so what will different species feed on, hunting, fishing or foraging?
The grassy shoal is at a distance and the screen on my camera is a mirror in a blaze of sunlight. Thank goodness for a portly male eider to focus on. My friend is puzzled by birds on the tip of the shoal but all I see is contorted shapes of birds preening. Five mystery birds, wish I'd taken more images because there was only a single bird when I identified it from Bay Hide on our return walk. There are geese swimming, beyond the grassy shoal. I reckon some are barnacle geese but I doubt they occur on South Walney so I'm puzzled. More anon.
At Bay Hide there's a fresh perspective on the mix of birds on the grassy shoal.
'What's that, with the wind blowing its crest?' my friend asks. There's only a gentle breeze. All I can make out is dark head with a crest of dark feathers and a wind-swept look. It's Red breasted merganser, a male. The head is dark green but I can't see that, nor can I make out detail through binoculars. A computer zoom reveals more. Red breasted merganser is a slim, handsome diving duck. A sawbill with a long, thin serrated bill adapted to catching fish. There were three males and two females- the latter with a shaggy crest of rust-colour. The birds are either roosting, heads tucked into their plumage, or preening. But across the sequence different aspects are visible; reddish bill, red webbed feet and males have a rusty red on the breast. A distinctive black and white pattern confirms ID.
On 31st January Bird Observatory sightings at South Walney recorded
10 Red Breasted Merganser
200 LIght bellied Brent geese
32 Canada geese
10 Barnacle geese
I'd hesitated to call barnacle geese because they're migratory. I saw them breeding in Svalbard in July 2006, watched an Arctic fox grab a brood of goslings, one by one, and cache them. The Svalbard birds overwinter in Caerlaverock where I've seen them. They fly north to Svalbard in March. And I had not thought they're found further south.
Jeff Holmes of Bristol Ornithological Club explains there are many feral flocks of barnacle geese which now breed in the UK. Chew Valley has around 12 birds, many at Slimbridge, some in Somerset and hundreds in East Anglia and elsewhere. So these South Walney barnacle geese are probably feral.
I'd asked him about the singular-looking goose with the two barnacles. ' Looks like a blue Snow Goose but these have a pink-red beak. This looks like a cross between a barnacle and a Canada.'
Distribution patterns change, of course. It's very rare to see Red Breasted Merganser in Somerset nowadays. If they were present Jeff would have seen them.
'What's that, with the wind blowing its crest?' my friend asks. There's only a gentle breeze. All I can make out is dark head with a crest of dark feathers and a wind-swept look. It's Red breasted merganser, a male. The head is dark green but I can't see that, nor can I make out detail through binoculars. A computer zoom reveals more. Red breasted merganser is a slim, handsome diving duck. A sawbill with a long, thin serrated bill adapted to catching fish. There were three males and two females- the latter with a shaggy crest of rust-colour. The birds are either roosting, heads tucked into their plumage, or preening. But across the sequence different aspects are visible; reddish bill, red webbed feet and males have a rusty red on the breast. A distinctive black and white pattern confirms ID.
On 31st January Bird Observatory sightings at South Walney recorded
10 Red Breasted Merganser
200 LIght bellied Brent geese
32 Canada geese
10 Barnacle geese
I'd hesitated to call barnacle geese because they're migratory. I saw them breeding in Svalbard in July 2006, watched an Arctic fox grab a brood of goslings, one by one, and cache them. The Svalbard birds overwinter in Caerlaverock where I've seen them. They fly north to Svalbard in March. And I had not thought they're found further south.
Jeff Holmes of Bristol Ornithological Club explains there are many feral flocks of barnacle geese which now breed in the UK. Chew Valley has around 12 birds, many at Slimbridge, some in Somerset and hundreds in East Anglia and elsewhere. So these South Walney barnacle geese are probably feral.
I'd asked him about the singular-looking goose with the two barnacles. ' Looks like a blue Snow Goose but these have a pink-red beak. This looks like a cross between a barnacle and a Canada.'
Distribution patterns change, of course. It's very rare to see Red Breasted Merganser in Somerset nowadays. If they were present Jeff would have seen them.
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