Best Red-breasted Goose to date and Spanking Sparrowhawk

I had a disappointing and frustrating time of it on 15th March. Having tried and failed to get anywhere near the Red-breasted Goose from the Monument (and wasted time and energy in the process), I drove over to Rockcliffe and walked all the way out following the riverbank (which took ages) and got in the perfect position to take a few shots before the whole lot were flushed by the local farmer on his quad bike and his horse-rider friends! So, the next day, I checked out Burgh Marsh briefly (realising that I was probably wasting my time) but also noticed large flocks of geese heading inland, and further west. Realising that I had a chance of getting much closer to these birds, I dashed round to the northern end of Rockcliffe Marsh and almost immediately struck gold. The Red-breasted Goose was right ahead of me! Annoyingly, though, it took flight, but this time headed inland (as the other geese had done earlier) and appeared to land south of the embankment – closer than it had ever been! I dashed along the ridge and quickly found the bird feeding peacefully in the grassy field to my left. Moments later, it took flight, and I assumed this was the last of the best views. But no. The flock flew to the other side of the embankment and now, although a little more distant, the Red-breasted posed beautifully in the bright morning sunshine. My only battle now was to get as many images as possible before the heat haze increased and ruined every shot! But even as the temperature rose, there were spells of coolness when the shimmer diminished, and the bird’s outline sharpened. The goose also came closer, and strutted its stuff amongst the Barnacles and Pinkfeet, calling and postering aggressively. It was certainly doing its best to perform for the camera!

I stopped briefly at Metal Bridge to search for a reported Tundra Bean Goose but failed. (There were just a few Pinkfeet here.) But there were two other birds that caught my eye: one was the leucistic Pheasant closer to home (which vanished when I returned with my camera!) and the other was a stunning Sparrowhawk perched on the hedge.