Pink-footed Goose.

Hello

Another wet day and a disappointing one if you happened to be at Pitsford Reservoir as there was no sign today of the Great Northern Diver from two days ago nor the Red-necked Grebe from yesterday afternoon. And most of us there became rather wet! At least the two Red-breasted Mergansers put in a show for the second day and despite lots of boat activity there were good numbers of birds between the dam and the causeway with a flock of eighty Cormorants completing synchronized fishing and at least seventy-five Great Crested Grebes between the causeway and the southern section of The Narrows. Goldeneye have arrived in numbers now and other birds included one or two adult Yellow-legged Gull(s), a drake Pintail, two Siskins and a Kingfisher.

Six probable Red-breasted Mergansers flew through Stanwick Pits at about 8am this morning and a pair of Stonechats were visible from Pioneer Hide at Summer Leys LNR and an Otter was showing well too!

An adult Little Gull was on pools at the DIRFT 3 development site near Lilbourne this afternoon.

Back in September 2020 whilst on the Isles of Scilly I came across a Pink-footed Goose in a field which couldn't fly. It had been a particularly stormy night and the goose appeared battered and bruised. It tried to hide in a ditch but I simply walked over and picked it up. Eleanor and I checked the goose over and couldn't see any significant injuries so decided that with a little recuperation it could be released. I ringed the bird and after it had rested I picked up the goose and walked about half a mile up from where we were to a field where a couple of Pink-footed Goose had been frequenting. Not surprisingly I received a couple of strange glances from people I encountered! At the field the Pink-footed Geese were still present and on release the battered goose went and joined them.

We visited the field over the next couple of days and the now ringed bird was still reluctant/unable to fly. However from about day four it was taking short flights and by the time we left the islands it was flying freely with it's new acquaintances.

Last month I received notification from the British Trust of Ornithology that this goose had been recovered in Scotland. Sadly the bird had been shot on or about 17th October 2023 as part of wildfowling operations at Allanfearn, near Inverness on the Moray Firth. This was 1112 days later with the goose meeting it's fate 857km north from where it was ringed on the Isles of Scilly. Very few Pink-footed Geese are ringed in the UK but at least this bird lived and had an opportunity to breed for another three years after our stormy night encounter in 2020.

News from the Stanford Reservoir Ringing Group confirms that the committed ringing at the reservoir successfully ringed record numbers of some warblers on-site this year including 782 Reed Warblers, 919 Sedge Warblers, 369 Garden Warblers, a massive 4463 Blackcaps, 1241 Common Whitethroats, 215 Lesser Whitethroats and 861 Willow Warblers. It's a little unsettling as a birder when you realise how many birds move through bushes in the county mostly unobserved!

Regards

Neil M

Pink-footed Goose.