UKC

This morning, over my house, over 250 in basically one skein. And Sunday, saw even more. It’s ace, you hear that honking, look up, and there they are. They feed around Martin Mere, sleep on the reserve regency wake up and continue their migration- almost always heading east or south east. 

Nice! There is a lesser white fronted goose at a wetland reserve a few miles away, unfortunately I will only have time on the weekend to look. Bet it will be gone by then...

CB

I could never tell the difference between pink foots and greylags. I always feel a little melancholy watching these skeins, especially now given the rigours and uncertainties of our winter to come.

Fun at the weekend watching them fail to hold formation in the wind. Love having them, they are a big thing here in East Lothian. Worth catching the whooper swans too

Great photo, Mick, thanks. In my long life I think I've never seen that many together. When I hear any coming I always run out of the house and watch them go over - what a sight - they're amazing

Love the sight and sound! We’re on the flight path to/from Montrose basin which gets them in the 10s of thousands this time of year - always impressed by their flight patterns and that last panicked bird trying to catch up! 

Must admit, after years of trying still can't distinguish the calls of pink footed and greylag, plenty of skeins overhead around Dornoch and Cromarty as well as my favs, whooper swans 

When I lived Southport way, it was odd hearing massed squadrons flying into roost after dark

The honks are completely different, also, with flying greylags you expect to see a lot of white "flashes", even if you cannot tell which parts look light as the birds are too far away.

CB

Pinkfoot make a ‘wink wink’ sound, greylags are a general cacophony (this is a good guide  youtube.com/watch?v=KfokdOhQmeQ& )

I was at Slimbridge last weekend & there were a fair few whitefronts around, as well as some barnacles. No pinks there as of yet (or anywhere on the Severn Estuary, that I’ve heard of anyway. 

Possibly the most stupid photo I will ever post, but saw these pink footeds just now from my bedroom as I was putting my trainers on. Seen lots today, hundreds. 

Here in Stirling we are on the corridor for Svalbard Barnacles going to Caerlaverock and this las few days has seen several flights. I have also seen lots of Greylags in the flooded fields of the Forth floodplain, but I think they may be headed for Loch Leven with the Pink Feet.

I’ve been to Loch Leven a few times, saw my first red head smew, beautiful bird. 

No luck with the lesser white fronted. reportedly still around, but no chance of finding it hidden among about 20k white fronteds and bean geese. The geese for some reason also were nervous like hell, flight distance > 300m if you even started slowing down your car.

CB

Whenever I see geese in Autumn, they always seem to be flying North? 

They can move between feedings grounds and roosting areas. The ones I see: 95% flying eastish away from Martin Mere/Southport area, 5% flying west back to Martin Mere. 

Good to see pinkfeet getting the respect they deserve on this thread!

See link below which illustrates nicely their migration patterns (and other goose species). 

https://sites.google.com/view/telemetry/home

Cheers,

Stuart.

The most impressive spectacle I've had of them is at Snettisham at dawn, reputedly up to 12,000, leaving the Wash to feed. It's really moving.

Yes, the dawn hike out to the wader viewpoint there is great. Must have spent half my weekends birding the Norfolk coast when I worked in the UK!