Spent half an hour or so this morning checking the wildfowl at Quennell Lake, in Cedar. It was freezing! But at least it was bright and dry...
There were 28 trumpeter swans on the flooded field at the northern end of the lake, plus a tundra swan. This is the first 'tundra' swan I've ever seen, although of course it's just the north American race of the Euro-version known as Bewick's swan, with which I am very familiar.
There were 2 greater white-fronted geese among the many, many Canadas.
The bulk of ducks were mallard with smaller numbers of green-winged teal, pintail, gadwall and American wigeon thrown in.
On the lake itself, there were approximately 160 common merganser and a dozen ring-necked duck.
What I DID find this morning on the old Aldcliffe Marsh from the gate was 16 brilliant Barnacle geese!!
ReplyDeleteBad news... when I looked again 40 mins later after walking the dog, they were gone... everything bloody else was still there of course, including 200 or so Golden Plovers , 4 Little Egrets etc.
Is 16 a record for Aldcliffe?
right... it's raining, almost dark.... ideal LEO time... off I go.
Ray
I think 16 is almost certainly an Aldcliffe record, Ray.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, a barnacle goose flock of that size is a major find anywhere in the LDBWS recording area. Presumably overshoots from Caerlaverock rather than fence-hoppers?
Isn't winter birding great!
Up to a point... it's bloody cold for us 61st calendar-year folks at that estuary. It's often quite difficult to hold my mug of Horlicks steady in the unforgiving wind.... ray
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