Beany time

Julian joined me today and we headed first to look for the Taiga Bean Geese. I also hoped for some viz mig but we had very little of that with just a few Lapwings clearly migrating.

Winter which had returned last week left us abruptly on Sunday morning when rain and warm temperatures resulted in snow rapidly disappearing and quite a bit of flooding in the river valleys today. It will take a few more warm days before migrant waterfowl start exploiting the flood waters but there is a question as to how long the waters will remain if we don’t get more rain soon.

The thaw had allowed the Bean Geese to use their usual favoured field and we counted 124 birds. Among them were 7 collared birds but only one of these had a new GPS collar whilst 2 have been transmitting from the area. Another observer had around 140 birds in the area later in the day (split into 2 flocks) suggesting we missed some birds (including the other GPS collar) earlier in the day. The Taiga Beans were entirely on their own with no Whooper Swans or other geese species with them.

Other good birds in the day were my first Cranes and Reed Bunting for the year and stop in Maridalen also revealed the first returning Lapwing and Starlings in the Dale.

part of the flock on a favoured field and the same field where I first read the rings on 20 March 2012. Today, I didn't read any of the same rings as I did 8 years ago although some are still around

a bird in flight showing the dark forewing

the distinctive long neck and bills of Taiga Bean Geese

7V and 3Y are a pair that I have seen many times since they were ringed in October 2013

this bird has an old, non-functioning GPS collar without an inscription but had a yellow ring on its left leg showing it to be "04" who was also ringed Oct 2013 and a bird I know well 

these two birds with very orange bills and white at the base are very extreme and similar birds have been misidentified as White-fronted in the past

the inset shows two new GPS collars:  on the left must be «18» and on the right is «27»

one of 3 Lapwings in Maridalen

9 March is the joint earliest arrival date

Common Buzzard (musvåk)

2 very distant Cranes (trane)

the neck collar on this Greylag at Kjelle, Bjørkelangen did NOT look comfortable at all! The bird was ringed in Sweden 18June 2018 was also seen at Kjelle in May 2019 and spent this last winter in Germany