Busy Week......

.......but not for birds. Work has typically gone nuts, the days have grown shorter and yesterday was Maisie's thirteenth birthday. Thankfully it all passed off smoothly, with no badly timed phone calls or texts alerting me to something rare, though the noise and mess created by 5 teenage girls having a sleepover party last night has inevitably taken its toll on my stress levels. 

The only birds of note during the week was a flock of 195+ Turnstone off Mudbank.

This morning, a short sea-watch from the Beach Huts with Nick produced 5+ Great Northern Diver, 13+ Common Scoter,1 Red-breasted Merganser and 1 Mediterranean Gull. A very quick look at the Top Fields revealed a Jay and some migrating Woodpigeons - c3/400+ soon after we'd got out of the car, but that was probably the tail end of it because no more went through while we were there.

This afternoon I was able to look through some gulls on the Otter. I figured there was a good chance of Caspian Gull, but had to make do with c20/30+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls, an adult Mediterranean Gull and an adult Yellow-legged Gull.

 

Redwings  - several small parties of Redwing have been flying over the house this week. A few Fieldfare have been moving too.

 

Adult and juvenile Brent Geese off the Imperial.

Woodpigeons - one of 3 smallish flocks this morning - Orcombe Point. I'm really disappointed not to have witnessed the big movements this year. It's one of the highlights of the Exmouth birding calendar.

Mallards - Mudbank.

Adult Yellow-legged Gull.

Lost Goose Psychology

This juvenile White-fronted Goose arrived on Orcombe Point on October 16th 2013. It arrived on its own and remained faithful to this one field for a month. You could walk right up close to it and it would just carry on feeding.  Towards the end of November it suddenly, and inexplicably, switched routine and joined the Brent Goose flock at the southern end of the estuary. At some point during the winter it just vanished and that was that!

Why did is suddenly leave Orcombe? Who knows? I suspect it was for dietary needs but of course I can't be sure. I wouldn't want to second-guess a goose!

Why did it choose a stubble field on Orcombe when it could have wined and dined in style on Exminser Marshes which, let's face it, are custom-built for geese? Again I'm not going to try and get inside a goose's tiny brain.

The point of this post, if you haven't guessed already, is to raise some points about the Ridgway's Cackling Goose. It suddenly parted company with the Brent Goose flock, with which it had been associating for the best part of a month, and moved to the Countess Wear area. At this point some people (many I suspect) wrote it off as an escape. Those people are making a massive assumption that a Ridgway's Cackling Goose is happy and healthy chewing on and digesting a saline diet of eel grass, for long periods of time. A quick internet search reveals that Cackling Geese frequent marshes, rivers and ponds, and feed on various grasses, sedges and other aquatic vegetation. Maybe, just maybe, an eel grass diet was ok for a while but not sustainable. Perhaps dietary requirements eventually forced a switch?

One thing for sure is that the habitat it has chosen for now is absolutely fine for a Cackling Goose. It's not going to find a large flock of Cacklers so the company it keeps is really not of any relevance. You could argue that Mallards are pretty close in size to Cacklers and perhaps more attractive company than the relatively giant Canada Geese. And if it's happy with Mallards now, why on earth did it join Brents in the first place? Who knows? certainly not me! Whether several thousand miles lost or out of a pen it's lost, so what's it going to do?

I've read various accounts of Cackling Geese turning up in urban areas, and even taking food from bins, so even if it turns up on Exeter Quay eventually I wouldn't entirely write it off.

I'm still trying to remain open-minded about this bird and I'm frustrated by the apparent large number of goose psychologists in the uk, who seem to know very well what a lost vagrant goose 'should' do.

The purpose of this post isn't to make a case for it being wild. Of course it very well might not be. It's to try and be open-minded and persuade a few goose psychoanalysts that as much as I can't prove it's wild, they can't prove it's not.

As for it being accepted as a wild bird by the BBRC/BOURC - the words snowball and hell spring to mind!

Latest Stuff

The estuary was particularly bleak and grey-looking this morning - the strong southerly wind forcing birds to keep their heads down, and fine drizzle making conditions generally unpleasant. Still good numbers of Dark-bellied Brent Geese, Wigeon and Pintail though, and at least 30 Redshank further upriver towards Lympstone.

Maer Rocks from 0710 - 2 Purple Sandpiper, 18+ Turnstone, 1 Curlew, 10+ Common Scoter and a Red-throated Diver south. Late this afternoon, whilst walking the dog, a Tern sp (presumably Sandwich) flew south along the beach.

Mudbank produced a Pale-bellied Brent Goose, 1 adult Mediterranean Gull a Redwing and a Siskin.

On arrival at Warren View Playing Fields I had the Serin (0840) in the usual spot. It flew up from weeds into a large Buddleia, where it hopped around for a while calling a lot, and then shot out  across the pitches towards Mudbank. It's definitely becoming more nervous,flighty and wide-ranging, and is less inclined to stay in the usual corner. I suspect some birders are standing a little too close at times. I'd recommend getting no closer than in line with the red bus and employing a degree of patience. Also there, at least 1 Chiffchaff still and 30+ Redwing over.

Yesterday I had good views of a Firecrest in Sallows beside the Maer Long-stay Car Park, and on 6/11 the Black Brant and a single female Gadwall were off Mudbank late afternoon.

Wet

 

A male Sparrowhawk sits out the heavy rain this afternoon.

 

It was really wet and almost dark by the time I got out after work this afternoon. The Serin was seen again and there was an adult Mediterranean Gull in with the Black-headed Gulls. The Sparrowhawk pictured is one of at least 2 birds that regularly hunt Warren View. I would imagine Serin is on the menu! Yesterday evening I had just enough time to look in the Dung Field, where the Dartford Warbler showed with 2 Stonechat, and Maer Rocks where the autumn's first 2 Purple Sandpipers were watched with c15+ Turnstone as darkness descended.

 

 

Willow Warbler

Willow Warbler

I had a quick look out the back after work. The weather was truly awful, with unrelenting rain, but I managed to see the Serin a number of times - same place, same habits.

In the 'northern corner' sallows I was really surprised to find a Willow Warbler. I always like seeing late birds like this but the heavy rain and low light levels meant I couldn't study it as much as I'd have liked. At this time of year there has got to be a chance that it's of a more north-easterly origin but it wasn't particularly grey-looking. The features I did note included a subtle primrose wash to the face, breast and flanks and quite green upperparts. The legs appeared more grey-pink than orangey-brown but the light was so dreadful that I wouldn't swear to this. The bird moved around very slowly, hopping ponderously from branch to branch. It always looked quite big and wasn't heard to call.

Also on Warren View - 1+ Goldcrest, 2+ Chiffchaff, 1 Coal Tit, 3 Redwing, 2 Song Thrush and 1 Sparrowhawk.

Yesterday morning there were 3 Mediterranean Gulls in with c3/400+ Black-headed Gulls.

Fantastic Serin Photos

 

Serin - photographed by Dave Land

 

Dave Land has very kindly let me use these beautiful shots of the Serin. Thank you so much Dave. I'm amazed he managed to capture these shots as the bird spent a lot of time hidden from view in the sallows, or feeding out of sight in vegetation on the ground. The area it's been in is a grotty bit of waste ground - weeds and rubble - but Dave has managed to get it sat, surrounded by rose-hips! I particularly like the shot that shows the rump - the most you see in the field is a burst of lemon-yellow as it takes of.

There has apparently been no sign of it today. Hope it's still around.

 

All images copyright - Dave Land

Today's Stuff

Great Spotted Woodpecker

 

Orcombe - covered with Nick for a couple hours after dawn - c10/20+ Redwing, c15+ Goldcrest, c15+ Greenfinch, c70+ Starling, 2 Stonechat, c5/10+ Pied Wagtail, c30/40+ Meadow Pipit, 1 Dartford Warbler, 2+ Golden Plover, 2 Lapwing, c25+ Skylark, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1+ Chiffchaff, 1 Firecrest, 1 Redpoll, 1+ Fieldfare and several Blackbirds and Song Thrushes.

I had good scope views from the back garden of the Serin, sat with c12+ Greenfinch in a bare tree beside the clubhouse late afternoon, and Redpoll became the 150th species on the house list, though that total includes Siberian Chiffchaff, Black Brant and some dubious wildfowl! Also on or over Warren View today - 1 Fieldfare, 2+ Chiffchaff, 2 Goldcrest, 1 Curlew and c40+ Goldfinch.