Tuesday 4 January 2022

Egyptian Geese

Five Egyptian Geese flew east past Orcombe Point early this morning. This is only my third Exmouth record following a single bird, south past Orcombe on 26/1/17 and a flock of 7, off Mudbank on 27/10/17.

A look off Maer Rocks, shortly after dawn, produced 5 Egyptian Geese, 1 Great Northern Diver, 2 Turnstones and 1+ Great Crested Grebe.
A female Goldeneye was in the Duckpond, and off Mudbank - 77 Shelduck and the juvenile Spoonbill. Really good to catch up with Libby today.
Off Shelly Beach - 6 Red-breasted Mergansers, 37 Dark-bellied Brent Geese and 1 Pale-bellied Brent Goose. A flock off 55+ Cattle Egrets was picked up flying upriver, over Starcross.



At least 2 Jays were at the top end of Bystock this afternoon. Also recorded - 1 Firecrest, 4 Goldcrests, 1 Treecreeper, 2 Redwings, several Coal Tits, 1 Redpoll and 2 Nuthatches.


Red-breasted Mergansers - Shelly Beach.

7 comments:

  1. Nice one Matt - I am guessing that 4 of your five birds were the birds I saw on the Otter yesterday evening.

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  2. Hi Chris - presumably, but Mark had five fly over Powderham yesterday, 'picking up' two more birds, so not sure what's going on. Perhaps the flock has wonderlust at the moment?! A good bird for me here in Exmouth, and presumably for you in Budleigh too! All the best. Matt

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  3. Yep, definitely a good bird here. I only saw my first EG for the patch in early December 2021. It was a single bird, but Dave W had seen 5 birds at the end of October whilst I was on Scilly. The plot thickens!
    Hope to see you out locally soon....

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  4. PS - Love your new header photo!

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  5. Thanks Chris! Didn't realise EG was as scarce as that on the Otter. Perhaps the recent birds are prospecting the new development. Cheers. Matt

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  6. Happy New Year, Matt! Lovely shot of the mergansers. Egyptian Geese are very much like Ring-necked Parakeets here- everywhere! It's amazing how much they've increased in the last decade or so. I remember it being a bird to look for on visits to Rutland Water or north Norfolk. Now every lake has them, sometimes in abundance.

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  7. Happy New Year to you too Neil! I think they're pretty much a permanent fixture at the north end of the river, but still very much a scarcity in Exmouth so a little bit exciting! All the best. Matt

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