Cackle

Today was my second day on a wild-goose chase at Budle Bay. Better weather this morning meant better visibility and I began picking through the several thousand Barnacle Geese, about a mile away to the north. After about 30 mins I picked up a lone small Canada Goose circling the bay. Small, but with a long thin neck, this had to be the Todd's Canada Goose. I watched it disappear to the north, then resumed picking through the Barnacles. Another ten minutes and I had the Richardson's Cackling Goose. About the same size as the Barnacles, this had the required short, stocky neck and short legs. A birder from Essex pulled up and just managed a quick view of the goose through my scope before the entire flock took off to the north, lucky! Usual suspects around the bay, but no sign of the second winter Glaucous Gull from yesterday.

Richardson's Cackling Goose

From here down to Newton, where there was no sign of the Little Bunting, but I did get excellent views of one, probably two Yellow-browed Warbler.

The burn mouth at East Chevington held 40+ Twite and a superb Shorelark. A Marsh Harrier was heading south, low over the sea, about a mile out.

Shorelark

A Cetti's Warbler singing by the south pool was a Northumberland tick.

On the north pool there was a Slavonian Grebe, Long-tailed Duck and several Pintail among a good selection of wildfowl. A young Marsh Harrier spent 20 mins flying just above a playing Otter, not something I've seen before.

Marsh Harrier and Otter

Some good news from Scilly. The Orphean Warbler that I spent the last two days of my trip chasing around St Agnes looks set to be accepted as Britain's first Eastern Orphean. Unfortunately I managed to have every possible setting on my camera wrong!

Eastern Orphean Warbler