Just to remind you, here’s
a photo of a Red-breasted Goose in Essex from last winter. I saw it again yesterday, or did I? I
certainly saw a Red-breasted Goose; holding territory on an Essex coastal
marsh, with a female tucked away on a nest.
Last year this pair raised four young.
I was visiting an area
of coastal marshland at the invitation of the landowner during a two-day tour
of sites on the Essex coast. The
landowner is a farmer who ‘likes his birds’.
The most obvious thing about this well-managed land was that it was teeming
with young birds; waders, geese and duck.
There were around 70 pairs of Avocets (many with well-grown young), 5
pair of Ringed Plover, 20 pairs of Little Terns, 1,000 pairs of Black-headed
Gulls and many Redshank. I saw broods of
Gadwall, Tufted Duck and Shoveler. The
landowner operates a minimal disturbance policy and ‘discourages’ ground
predators such as Foxes and Stoats. There were also many geese, including about
80 pairs of Barnacles and the pair of Red-breasted. I saw around 20 broods of Barnacle Geese. A fascinating site, but somewhat alarming if you want to think the Red-breasted Goose you are chasing is wild.
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