A clear,bright morning at Fly Flatts with 60% cloud and plenty sunshine on a cool NW>3 at 4 degrees.
As I arrived my first scan with the bins reveled 3 small geese in with the Canadas and Greylags.
My first thoughts were another 3 Barnacles until I grabbed the scope and stared in disbelief, 3 pale bellied Brent geese.
These 3 are pale bellied of the form/variant ssp 'hrota' which winter in Denmark, England and Ireland returning to their breeding grounds in Greenland and Svalbard in arctic Norway and are much rarer than the dark bellied variant ' bernicla'.
Luckily the light was good so I could get some half decent shots using the tripod and full extended lens going up to 960mm. No way was I going anywhere near these birds at the risk of flushing them with the birding cavalry already on their way. The worst time, with birds like this is that they will fly before anyone appears so was I glad when AC arrived up on the top road, although with a camera now you always have some evidence.
One worrying moment was when I was back in the compound scoping across the water, the 3 Brents suddenly ran down the banking into the water chased by 2 Greylag but luckily they didnt fly and eventually went back onto the banking and settled down.
Fortunately the geese stayed all day giving several birders chance to see them. It was lucky they arrived on Sunday as tomorrow morning YW will be on the bank in the Land Rover and more than likely the helicopter will be over the moor dropping bags of Sphagnum moss for planting.
Other birds today were 1 pair Ringed Plover, 3 Wheatear, 5 Skylark, 2 Raven, 2 Oyks, several Mipits plus the usual Canada, Greylag and Barnacle geese plus the usual species.
BS