Wow, how to describe a day like today. I've been waiting a long time for things to turn out like they have, a lot of birding hours have come into today. A mixture of the right place at the right time provided quite the spectacle. There might have been winter days when I saw more, there might have been times when I saw something rarer, but today encapsulates the true wilderness of birding in winter in Suffolk.
First off let me talk about the GEESE. Not usually so much of a feature of this area, but at Hollesley Marshes there were an amazing 7 species. That's right 7 species of goose. I shall recap them for you, make it easier to understand:
The most common of them, with the largest flocks were the GREYLAG, with CANADA close behind. Nothing unusual I can see them at my local fishing pits. Amongst them, in smaller number there were the 'black' geese with flocks numbering in the 40s: BARNACLE and BRENT, birds more restricted to coastal Suffolk. A sense of scarcity was added to by 21 BEAN, 11 WHITE FRONTED and 2 BAR HEADED GEESE. The two BAR HEADED are most probably the pair that tries to nest at Minsmere, but usually fail, and aren't considered wild in the truest sense.
All 7 species formed one large flock which spread out for several hundred metres in one long line, being geese they were found on the grassland rather than the scrape.
But that's not all. At Boyton, there was even more. Just south of the Boyton Marshes reserve, on the flat arable land, feeding with a small herd of MUTE SWANS were a further nine BEAN GEESE. On Boyton Marshes reserve, there were around 40 WHITE FRONTED GEESE mixed in with the larger and more numerous GREYLAG. Away from North Warren, the WHITE FRONT'S stronghold, numbers of that goose doesn't usually reach such big numbers, so 40 is a decent count. This year seems to be a good one, with a lot of coastal places recording this bird. WHITE FRONTS are smaller than GREYLAGS, have pink bills, are darker, have pink legs and have black markings on their chest.
The flocks of BEAN GEESE, in particular are very good. The species has one stronghold in the UK, Buckenham Marshes, in the Broads, where even there they are difficult to see. This is one of those birds that truly make a winter, really encapsulate the season. They are regular in Suffolk, but scarce and in usually in single figures, so to get two flocks in one area is quite remarkable. Its a grey goose like the GREYLAG, but is slightly smaller, has a darker body and a darker bill, and has orange legs.
I saw other birds today of which I will recap in the next part of the blog, there was just too much to fit in.
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