Having A Gander At Snettisham

 Regular birding pal Shozzer and I were joined by Phil Rogers this morning when we journeyed over to North Norfolk. Phil has just returned from Texel where he successfully twitched the Spectacled Eider and saw a host of other good birds. Clearly he hadn't quite had his fill of wildfowl as our principal target was the flock of Lesser White-fronted Geese which have made the Snettisham area their home for the last few weeks. They're not truly wild birds as they belong to the Swedish introduction scheme that's trying to save this rare species from extinction. Wild Lessers traditionally migrated to south east Europe but these birds have been conditioned to winter in western Europe where conditions are judged to be more favourable. This gaggle and another smaller one in Warham have attracted quite a lot of attention from birders keen to see what is one of the continent's rarest species.

Lesser White-fronted Geese

These not so wild geese did not require much of a chase as we found them after a short stroll from the RSPB reserve car park. A total of twenty four were noted feeding in the company of three White-fronted Geese which allowed for close comparison. The Lessers showed the distinctive yellow eye ring which helps to identify this species and were also visibly smaller (I guess the clue is in the name!) In addition the white front is slightly broader and the forehead steeper while the bill is shorter. Unlike Phil I have not seen wild Lesser White-fronts before and it was good to catch up with the results of what is shaping up to be a conservation success story. We left the geese to continue with their grazing and headed towards Old Hunstanton.

It was pretty busy on the beach with plenty of children and mutts being walked, it was clear the cloudy skies and threat of rain had not put many people off. Despite this throng we did manage to catch up with the five Shore Larks which have been wintering here and managed to get some decent views of them. They were spooked at one point by some approaching walkers though they landed a little way along the strandline. As we approached them they took flight once again though this time they flew off along the beach and were not seen again. As the public toilets were closed we were forced to use the ones in the Mariner pub - honest! We did the decent thing and gave the pub some custom with lunch and a pint judged to be the best way to bring our visit to a close.