More Solway Geese ... Eurasian Whitefronts ...

The geese in the Easton area were more visible than last week when they were in difficult terrain towards Bousted Hill ... from the top of the hill on the road running north towards Easton I could hear Pinkfeet calling somewhere to the west ... from the bottom of the hill the flock was visible towards Fingland Moss and included two Eurasian Whitefronts ...  they were highly mobile and some went west and out of sight ... then a group of four Eurasian Whitefronts flew in from the east and away west - three adults and a juvenile ...

... the birds up by Fingland Moss (NY266578) were very distant ...

... with the Whitefronts appearing intermittently ...

... the Pinkfoot flock was fragmenting with some groups flying overhead toward Bousted Hill ...

... while others went away in the Drumburgh Moss direction ...

... in the Oulton - Lessonhall area near Wedholm Hill Farm (NY232516) there were more Pinkfeet, some Barnacle Geese and another two adult Eurasian Whitefronts in the area of Wedholm Hill Farm ...

... then from the south a flock of c.3000 Pinkfeet appeared ...

... and flew in to join the others ...

... more very distant Barnacle Geese were in Moricambe Bay and small scattered groups of Pinkfeet on Whitrigg Marsh before the rain came in ...

Geese moving on the Solway ... thousands of Pinkfeet and a Tundra Bean

With thousands of Pinkfeet moving up to the Solway from the Lancashire goose fields in recent days there is always the prospect of something interesting ... I checked Walby and found around two thousand Pinkfeet along with 55 Whooper Swans on the hill behind the flash ... always partly obscured behind the hedges and trees the geese were nervous with necks frequently extended and constantly on the move ...

... one bill pattern caught my attention ... as the goose moved the orange legs came into view ... the brown mantle colour contrasted with the frosty grey of the Pinkfeet and the wide sub-terminal tail band showed up ...

... as the Bean Goose turned its head the bulging lower border to the proximal part of the lower mandible was noticeable and confirmed this as a Tundra Bean Goose ...

... between Easton and Boustead Hill several thousand more Pinkfeet fed in the rough fields calling mutedly and occasionally circling to land again in the small fields ...  between Lessonhall and Oulton another three thousand Pinkfeet occupied the low fields along with eight Barnacle Geese ... a fantastic spectacle as the birds rose to relocate with their evocative high pitched calls coming through the still air in the almost-spring sunshine ...

Birdcrime 2015 ... this is where the blame lies ...

The recent RSPB report gives a very clear indication as to who the culprits are ... if ever we had much doubt !

... there has been some criticism from the shooting lobbies that the massive 68% of Birdcrime for which Gamekeepers are identified as being responsible relates to reported crime and not crime which results in a conviction ... how much greater would that figure be if it included ALL Birdcrime and not just REPORTED Birdcrime ... in remote upland areas it is so easy for Birdcrime to go undetected and unreported ...

Some long-staying scarcities in Cumbria continue to be reported intermittently ... at Siddick Pond a Smew has been showing well at times while retreating into the phragmites beds on occasions ...

... it appears to be an adult female as the lores are dark, the tertials are grey and the crest is well developed ...

... at Grune Point two female Long-tailed Ducks were distantly off the end of the point along with scattered groups of Wigeon ...

... diving frequently and visible only intermittently on the choppy water as the tide receded ...

... Pinkfeet have been arriving on the Solway in increasing numbers as they head north ...

... looking fantastic coming in to land in the late afternoon sunshine ...

The Whitehaven Black Guillemot ... and why it is not mandtii

The Black Guillemot that has been present in the inner harbour at Whitehaven since 16th January was mooted as a mandtii race on 26th January.  There seemed to be no images available of the open wing of this bird which would provide diagnostic evidence as to whether it is a mandtii or arcticus ( the race occurring in Britain, Ireland and western Scandinavia ).

The overall appearance of the bird was certainly rather pale ...

... the head had only minimal mottling and the rump was completely lacking in dark markings in the central area ...

... when I arrived at the harbour the bird was puffed up and looking none too healthy as it swam slowly around the moored boats and took shelter under the pontoons ...

... as it swam it used only the left leg with the right leg trailing behind ...

... after half an hour there seemed little prospect that it was going to do anything ( except perhaps die ) that would provide a view of the open wing ...

... when I returned after checking the rest of the harbour to where the bird was lingering it seemed a little more animated ... 

... it swam to an area of open water and began 'snorkelling ' ...

... and then dived ...

... the outer wing was completely black and lacked the white area on the inner wing extending onto the primary coverts which is the case with mandtii ...

... the white patch on the inner wing showed three dark interrupted lines indicating that this is a first winter bird ...

... it performed another two dives after 'snorkelling' briefly each time ...

... on one occasion it caught and swallowed what appeared to be a small crab ...

... it seems that some individuals of the presumed race arcticus have a much paler appearance than is the norm ...

... the race mandtii which breeds in the High Arctic has been recorded in Norway, Iceland , New York and The Netherlands ...  it was once considered a full species - Mandt's Guillemot

British Birds Magazine once again shows the way in communicating conservation issues ...

Hats off to the editor Roger Riddington and his team for once again providing comment and information on important conservation matters in this months issue ...

...  the News and comment pages compiled by Adrian Pitches give us well referenced topical articles from at home and around the world ... the MoD ignoring illegal bird trapping in Cyprus ... Red Kites providing huge economic benefits through eco-tourism in Dumfries and Galloway ...

... BB eye returns to the Driven grouse shooting problems at a time when our own Cumbrian Hen Harrier fledged last year has gone missing and presumed dead ... and at a time when manipulation of news about the shooting of Rowan another Hen Harrier by those involved with driven grouse shooting is just coming to light ... and there will be more ...

Along with Birdwatch Magazine which also highlights these matters British Birds is leading the way ... this is in harsh contrast with the lamentable failure of some of the leading conservation bodies to inform their members and motivate them to speak out ...