Geese & Raptors Galore
Sunshine: frost fast melting - minus three to plus seven in a couple of hours.
And, at home, Curlews over - either one three times or three once! Then a frustrating sighting: a chat/robin flyover that was possibly a Stonechat - even saw the wing flashes - at twice tree top height - as though it was looking to land on the hedge. Then it was attacked by a Chaffinch and absconded, never to be seen again.
That would have been a garden tick if I'd seen it well enough!
And so I took myself off to the Lancashire mosslands, inland from Southport, where reports and pictures on BF promised a Tundra Bean Goose or two.
Busy fields in preparation for a new crop of carrots and spuds, deep furrows in dark peat, where the sun encouraged a contrasting white veil to rise from the black land. And there were geese, in hundreds, if not thousands; many rising and heading north-west.
As I scanned the nearest birds a Merlin zoomed through and landed on a bank not far away. Pink-feet were sitting and walking, calling and flying all around, but fortunately the Bean goose showed right out as near as any goose.
More and more took off and flew far away. I decided on a safari around some of the almost-foreign-looking landscape of the moss. Soon Lapwings were a smoke line up from the ground - and the cause: a Peregrine high and fast to the south west. Then a Merlin, perhaps the same one as before, was perched up not far in front of me, and I approached to within 75 ms in the car as she sat on a low shrub, before flying around me and then off to hunt.
She treated me to a spectacular display of aerial prowess, as, having picked out a Skylark from a flock, she rose with it, jinking at it and trying to keep above it as they both gained height.
But the Skylark was her match and with a final swerve and sudden flick upward as the falcon dived, it was above the Merlin and the raptor gave up to glide away.
Buzzards were tilting up into the big sky, flashing in the sun - and now a Peregrine was perched in front of me. Again I approached, passing a ditch with Teal and Mallards, and two Little egrets.
This falcon was a huge pale brown immature female Peregrine, lightly streaked over her bulging crop - she had just eaten - and her mantle and wing colour was unlike any Peregrine I've seen before. I got within 100 ms of her - as a male Sparrowhawk went right past - causing her to swivel her head. The hawk hugged the ground and I let him go to watch the Peregrine again.
Now she took off as I got too close - first stretching her broad wings and barred tail - if it wasn't for the broad blodge of her moustachials she would have had me thinking Gyr! As it is I wonder if she was a pure Peregrine.
A Kestrel perched on a plough completed the falcon trio and I left a happy man.
:t:
