On arrival for Monday duty at Sandgrounder’s, I saw that ‘Snow Goose’ had been entered in the book that morning. I didn’t have to wonder for terribly wrong before spotting the individual in question, not a great view but enough to see the blue base to the bill that marked this as Ross’s Goose. Somehow, the beird seemed larger than the one that was present last year, but it was favouring the same spot up the side channel from the hide, and it was a year ago. Same bird until proven otherwise, I reckon.

There is another white goose with black wing tips hanging around Sutton’s Marsh: this is some kind of domestic hybrid thing, at least as large as the Canadas it associates with and with a big orange Greylag bill.

I popped back later in the week (Friday 20th) where I saw this latter bird, as well as a Goldeneye from Nel’s which is a lttle bit unusual. Plenty of Shovelers present too, as well as some pintail, and I reckon a couple of thousand Godwits.

Flashback to the actual date of this post: I’m pretty sure I saw a Peregrine, and I definitely saw a Merlin (which turned into a Kestrel in mid-air). Falcons.