Two Snow Geese with the Humber Pink-footed Goose flock very high wild bird credentials
October 7th wandering around Waters’ Edge looking for a Yellow-browed warbler, seemed a decent chance, there were the usual hoardes of Pink-footed Geese flighting east and south-east as the departed their roost on Redcliffe Middle Sand. Casually scanning the flocks for something different I was actually quite shocked to see something very different! two adult white Snow Geese tagging along with one of the Pink-feet flocks.
Two adult Snow Geese with Pink-footed Geese over Waters' Edge October 7th 2024
Snow Geese that appear with feral Greylags and the like or wandering flocks in the summer are rightly regarded as of suspect origin but birds accompanying Icelandic and Greenland breeding Pink-feet have much better credentials as genuinely wild birds with increasing numbers now breeding in Greenland so this pair seem to be looking good
After this sighting the birds disappeared to the south-east but after two weeks away and missing most of the East coast arrival of Siberian Vagrants I just had to head up to Bempton for looks at the first winter Daurian Shrike and a few Yellow-browed Warblers - thus I was not back on the Humber when Wayne and Neil picked them up returning to the Redcliffe roost at 18:15hrs.
The 8th dawned dull and cloudy after overnight rain but it was reasonable light and Tom picked them up in the roost by 06:50! we then watched them, sometimes alongside a lingering Spoonbill, until heavy drizzle made viewing difficult and I returned for breakfast. Suitably refreshed I chanced on potetial views from Chowder Ness but as I drove down Far Ings road at Barton thousands of Pink-feet were heaidng south-east - a quick phone call to Neil and Tom confimred though that the Snow Geese were tardy in their departure and I was soon watching them with the scope from Chowder car park. They were in one of th elast flocks to leave but thankfully came right my way and passed quite close allowing some better images than the previous day as they again veered off south-east inland possiblty over my garden! Searches on the Wolds as far at Searby fdailed to find any geese at all so they must be moving a considerable distance to feed. Beow some real wolrd / light and distance images of the roosting flock and their passage over Chowder. Suirprisngly easy to overlook head on ina flock of Pinks.
The Pink-footed Goose roost on Redcliffe Middle Sand early October 8th 2024
Even at a range of 1800m two white geese are visible in amongst the Pink-feet
Not that obvious in a line of head-on Pink-feet
Sticking with the Pink feet flocks and ignoring the local flocks of Greylags and Canada Geese is surely a positive sign
They usually tag onto the outside of the Pink-foot flocks
Being white they are easier to find in a big flock of Pink-feet than other grey goose vagrants