Other than a strong wind making it a cold dawn at 0730 hrs, the sun was rising, the tide was out, and Pink-footed Geese were assembled in two large flocks in front of Tayock. I didn't/couldn't count them all, but the last official count was 35,000 last week, so probably more than that. Four Pinkie videos below, click the links
Pink-footed Geese in flight Pink-footed zoom out Pink-footed zoom and pan, 60 seconds Pintails
Leucistic Pink-footed Goose, likely a known bird which has been seen and photographed over recent years
Crop from the photo above
More photos at different stages as the sun rose higher in the sky
Pintails flying in to bathe and preen
Moulting into winter plumage
Flying out after a brief spruce up
Large numbers of Shelducks were spread throughout the geese, this meant every individual had to be checked out in case a Snow or Ross's Goose was hidden amongst them
Despite a temperature of 12 degrees and a strong wind, I found 12 Red Admirals in and around a nettle patch, and many were reported in Angus and Fife on Wednesday. They all looked to be new with no ragged wing edges, so I assume these are the ones that will migrate south into warmer parts of France and Europe to spend the winter.
No comments:
Post a Comment