There was good birding to be done at the Wetland and Wildlife Trust Welney reserve this morning, along with their excellent coffee - the best to be had anywhere around Ely, but far, in my opinion.
These two Whooper swans were definitely in the mood for something and only had eyes and wings to flap at each other. Whether they will stay to nest or migrate to Iceland soon is, of course, unknown. The mute swan to the right was not amused - at all:
One of our rarer geese - a white-fronted goose (referring to the white ring around their bill) was also to be seen - and this is only the second time I know I have seen it. The picture is as good as I could get. The black striping is very distinctive:
There's a lapwing - one of the thousands around this morning - on the right.
And there is nothing rare about these geese - the greylag, but they are very East Anglian, even if they were effectively reintroduced in the 1970s, with considerable success:
That beak is a thing of beauty. So is the bird as a whole. Their scientific name is anser anser - so good they named them twice.
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I can’t match your bird watching in any way! But yesterday morning around 6am I was watching a couple of gulls soaring across the sky against the moon that was just showing in a break in the clouds…
Suddenly a HUGE bird dropped from our roof, then veered across to disappear into one of our neighbours’ gardens. A buzzard! Not something I expected to view about 9 foot from where I was sitting up in bed!
Never realized before quite how ginormous they are – seen them at our caravan, but in flight or perched on telegraph wires, not up close like yesterday.
They’re impressive.
I saw one fighting a barn owl a few weeks ago, over a vole. I thought the owl was injured, but it survived. But buzzards are very powerful.
Me and my walking friend watched four of them soaring, swooping, and then landing and taking off from a pair of Scots Pines while sitting having our snap next to the Trent, at Averham, in glorious weather last Wednesday. Magnificent birds. And one of the few success stories compared to their numbers when I was a boy.
“I thought the owl was injured, but it survived. But buzzards are very powerful.”
We have burring Owls in our front yard. I love owls! So, as we say in the USA. “that is enough to puke a buzzard off a gut wagon”! LOL!
Hope the water buffalos are going well.
I must go and see them….
“Burrowing” Owls not “burring” Owls.
Sorry for the typo.
“I must go and see them….”. Of course you need to view “Burrowing” Owls.
Feel free to come to my house in Florida to view the “Burrowing” Owls! LOL!
I would not feel safe in the States right now – but thank you
I was referring to a visit to the water buffalo
We all need something peaceful and beautiful to do/watch these days.
A black redstart this morning….