I took the long walk down to Irifune to check on the Brent Geese. It was quite mild today and has been for a few days but the snow still hasn't really melted, some places at the Brent site are still inaccessible.
There were lots of them: 30 or 40 at least.
Other stuff today included the usual common winter sea ducks such as Scaup, Goldeneye, Red Breasted Merganser and Harlequin, Great Crested Grebe and Pelagic Cormorant. On the river yesterday were 6 species of duck including both merganser species, Great Egret, Merlin and another Great Crested Grebe at the rivermouth. I seem to be seeing a lot of these every winter now, I wasn't seeing any 10 years ago I recall.
So another quiet week draws to an end, the snow has to disappear soon I guess, at this rate it'll still be around in April, very unusual for Hakodate.
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Lovely geese photos. They're really striking with their dark heads and white collars.
ReplyDeleteWhat a smart little gang. I love the one throwing neck shapes!
ReplyDeleteNot a common bird here - there were 4 pale-bellied for a while but I never caught up with them.
Really nice shots of the Brents Stu. Can't believe how close you get - if they even turn up in the North West they are always miles away.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments........
ReplyDeleteStuart/Phil-I only ever saw Brent Geese once in the UK (in Suffolk almost 30 years ago) and I recall they were very jumpy. The ones near me seem quite used to people and allow me to approach them easily, sometimes only 4 or 5 meters away.....