White-fronts at West Freugh - 4.iii.24
Despite tricky conditions, I finally caught up with some of the Greenland White-fronted Geese that winter around the airfield, after several failed attempts in recent weeks. It was mercifully dry with sunny spells but a very strong and bitterly cold south-easterly wind made things decidedly uncomfortable outside the car. My afternoon visit began as usual at the flooded fields north-east of the runways. A pair of Shelduck and a small flock of Golden Plover were present. Nearby I found a flock of Pink-footed Geese, the first of many. These latter birds were very flighty, disturbed no doubt by all the muck-spreading that was going on. Tractors pulling trailers of slurry buzzed about constantly as they spread their toxic sludge over the fields. At times the air was full of skeins making their distinctive ang-ank calls. A rough estimate came to 5,000, but no sign of White-fronts among them. Local experts say the two species tend not to flock together, in this area at least. I checked ...