House List Snow Goose

The wild-goose chase came to an end at last today (7th March 2023). I'd been trying to track down the reported rarity for a few days now and had checked various locations but found nothing but Barnacles and Pinkfeet. Today, not for the first time, the geese were gathering in front of the house, but for once there were good numbers of Pinkfeet as well as the usual large flocks of Barnacle Geese. I knew this was a good sign - the rarity in question had been associating with the former rather than the latter. (Any white geese amongst the Barnacles were always likely to be leucistic birds.) And this time there was indeed a white bird amongst the Pinkfeet, albeit some way off. Closer inspection through the scope at 70x revealed what I had been hoping for: black wing-tips: this was undoubtedly the bird I had been looking for - the 1st winter Snow Goose, my first for the house list! I drove up the road for slightly better views and could now see the thicker neck (compared to Barnacle) and, eventually, the pinkish bill (unlike the black bill of a leucistic Barnacle). No photo from the house (the bird was simply too far away), but a great bird to see and to get it through the conservatory window was the icing on the cake... number 115.

The following day, after work, there was no sign from the house, so I drove on to Anthorn where I'd seen a large flock of Pinkfeet the previous day. An initial scan drew a blank, but I tried again from a different angle and there it was, closer and in far better light. The fence spoilt the view a bit, but at least I had a record shot. Moments later, the farmer drove into the field and the whole flock took off and didn't return.