Eider and Yellow-legged Gulls

I was hoping the wind and rain of the last few days might have stirred something up, a wreck of Leach's Petrels or Grey Phals maybe?  But it didn't happen - which is good news for the Petrels and Phalaropes!

However this afternoon at Seaton Hole a young male Eider was feeding just offshore, and may only have been there due to the rough seas.  Eider shouldn't really be a rare bird around here, and it never used to be, but this was my first on patch since early 2011!  For some reason they have become so much rarer off the south coast of Devon within the last decade, although this is the third record for us in the last 12 months with both Phil and Ian having seen flybys whilst sea watching.

Of course I have been giving the gulls as much time as I've been able too during the recent storm, with two Yellow-legged Gulls being the highlight. A stunning but distant adult yesterday (back on looking right)...

And this classic second-winter this afternoon...

Would very much appreciate more wind and rain please!  It's turning into a cracking good gull autumn, but something with white-wing tips next would be good (and bigger than a Med Gull!).

The Apex of Goosing

This post has been due for a week, as it was the day before 'lockdown two' that I had chance to nip over to Somerset to visit Apex park at Burham-on-sea.  And the reason...

Incredibly the hand-fed flock of Greylag and Canada Geese, along with the usual assortment of Mallards, Moorhens and various gulls, which spend day upon day at the local favoured duck feeding spot, have been joined by two more species of geese. A first-winter Tundra Bean Goose, which is a scarce bird in the south west usually only associated with cold weather spells, and two first-winter Eurasian White-fronted Geese.  Even more incredibly, although I suppose not all that surprising given they are young birds and have simply adopted the behaviour of the flock, they are as tame as everything else...   

In the above photo, left to right that's a Euro White-front, Greylag and Bean Goose.  You can see the second White-front behind the Greylag.

Clearly Harry has still got lots to learn, as he wasn't anywhere near as excited as I was at being this close to a Bean Goose! I actually took grain out of his hand so that I can say I have fed one.

Here's some close ups of the Bean...

And one of the two White-fronts...

And both species together...

A really unique opportunity to get such close views and study these two species of wild geese. I could have stayed all day but Harry had other ideas!