Way too many cherubs, cards, flowers and crap music breaking the back of love this morning, so after a romantic trip with Mrs D to Foul Lane tip (I really know how to spoil the ladies...), I headed out onto Plex for an hour or so.
For a cold, grey old February afternoon, it wasn't bad - a nice feeding flock of 400+ Pinkies and 120 Whoopers close to the track on Plex Moss Lane held two fine tundra Bean Geese, all yellowy bills, legs and feet until they started to feed in the muddy gloop of the rich black Lancashire soil.
An adult and a juv bird I think.
They bustled about beside a particularly flooded part of the field, fairly close to the track, but often dropping out of sight in the furrows, while the Whoopers and Pinks rooted about beside them, getting covered in thick black gloop.
One of the Pinkies bore a silver neck ring "LNC", which I'm sure is the bird that has been hanging around most of the winter (I'll have to check), but most of them were caked in muddy black soil.
Not much else out there, beyond the norm today though - two flocks of Fieldfare about 30 strong, Mistle Thrush, 2 Buzzards (one being mercilessly mobbed by corvids) and a pack of 50+ Linnets.
Med Gull and c140 Corn Bunting reported on Downholland Moss today, but I didn't get a chance to get beyond Plex.
Fieldfares heading north over Dempsey Towers earlier in the day, before the cloud rolled in, singing Song Thrush, and Greenfinch in flight display.
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies...
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Dog-friendly Formby again today John, over high tide with Jason and Bones too. No easy close-ups like yesterday, but possibly 4 Velvets in fight at distance; around 100 GC Grebes, 40+ Red-throated Divers, 300+ Common Scoter. Best of all though was a pair of Red Breasted Mergs just offshore in full courtship display. Plenty of Barwits on shore. A flock of Siskins in the pinewoods on Old Fisherman's path; a tame fox in the National Trust reserve; Redpoll sp at Wick's Lane. Still no Treecreeper for the year though ...
Hi John
Great pics of the Beans - nice one.
Passing Parkgate today, just had time to call in for a bit, I had really great close views of Short Eared Owl quartering and then it landed on a post nearby, a passing family took turns to look through my telescope - they all went away pleased .
Got the two Bean Geese on Plex this morning - ta v much!
Yeah cheers John, I also got brilliant views of the Beans today. While I was there two other birders came along in different cars to see them, after about twenty minutes a land rover pulled up and two farmers got out and waved and clapped...with that the geese were gone!