I mentioned in my last blog that two of the white-fronted geese that have been visiting Minsmere this winter are wearing green neck collars. These collars, with large printed numbers for ease of identification in the field, have been fitted as part of a research project to find out more about the movements and life histories of white-fronted geese.
The white-fronts at North Warren today by David Fairhurst
White-fronted geese breed in a swath across northern Russia, from the Barents Sea in the west eastwards towards the Bering Sea. They migrate south in winter to escape the cold, with some birds wintering in NW Europe (the UK, Holland, Denmark and northern Germany), while others spend the winter on the Black Sea in Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine. The best areas to see white-fronts in the UK are traditionally the Severn Estuary, Kent, North Norfolk and the Suffolk coast. However, milder winters have meant that fewer birds have headed as far west as the Severn in recent years, making the Suffolk coast an important UK stronghold.
Here, the best place to see white-fronts is at RSPB North Warren, where a count of 420 birds this morning was the biggest in Suffolk for several years, no doubt bolstered by new arrivals from Holland during this cold snap. The flock does also move around the coast, visiting Minsmere and sites around the Alde Estuary. They are often accompanied by a handful of the tundra race of bean goose, which is a scarce visitor to the UK. At North Warren you can usually spot barnacle, Canada and greylag geese, and the odd pink-footed goose too, as well as huge flocks of wigeon, pintail, teal and shoveler.
White-fronts with and without collars by David Fairhurst
We now have some details of the neck-collared white-fronts, which were among the flock at North Warren today. They were ringed as adults last summer (8 August 2016) on Kolguyev Island, Russia. Kolguyev is a large island in the south-east Barents’ Sea, off the NW coast of Russia. It is located about 70 km (45 miles) from the Russian mainland. Kolguyev is an almost circular island, measuring about 80 km (50 miles) in diameter and consists primarily of low-lying Siberian bog. The island is towards the western limit of the breeding range for white-fronted goose, and the birds were probably ringed during their post-breeding moult, when it is easier to catch them since they are temporarily flightless.
After leaving Kolguyev Island, these two white-fronts migrated southwest, probably passing through Estonia and Germany, and were subsequently seen in Holland during November before continuing their journey westwards and arriving in Suffolk in the New Year. It is perhaps not surprising that birds breeding int he western part of their range subsequently migrate west, but further reports of neck collared birds will help researchers to learn more about these beautiful geese.
As well as the big flock at North Warren this morning, a handful of white-fronts were feeding on fields south of Island Mere this morning, viewable from the Whin Hill watchpoint. The mere itself remains frozen but that didn't deter two foxes from wandering out onto the ice, or 800 common gulls from gathering to rest and bathe in the small patch of open water. Other sightings at Island Mere today included water rails, bitterns, bearded tits and marsh harriers.
Another bird that is typical seen in cold weather is the woodcock. this nocturnal woodland wader can occasionally be spotted camouflaged in the leaf litter by day, but is more likely to be seen flying away when disturbed, usually accidentally, from close to the path. This was the case this morning when one flew up about 100 metres ahead of me, long before I'd seen it, and disappeared towards Whin Hill. Similarly one was flushed near the pond yesterday morning.
Woodcock by Jon Evans
With the Scrape also frozen, the other highlight today was another arrival from the Arctic. A first winter glaucous gull paused briefly to rest on the sluice outfall. These huge white-winged gulls visit the UK in winter in small but variable numbers and can often found around harbours, rubbish dumps and inland reservoirs. This is probably the bird that has been at North Warren recently, but it may prove difficult to spot as its visits to Minsmere have so far been brief.
Will the cold weather bring any more unusual visitors to Minsmere this weekend?