News from a cold and frosty Slamannan

After a week of sunshine in the Canary Islands it was a shock to arrive back in Edinburgh on Friday night to a temperature of 1 degree c.

A trip to the plateau on Saturday afternoon found all of the bean geese in and around the Garbethill area.

There must have been a bit of disturbance too as the birds were seen in the air on several occasions over a period of hours. Eventually they all headed for Beam Farm to feed before their roost flight to Fannyside or Darnrig.

News update from the Slamannan Plateau

A milder day of weather was welcome after the icy blasts of the last week.

Found a nice flock of 47 bean geese NW of Slamannan and another group of 58 birds much further west. They were well hidden and not easy to find.

A roost count last Friday evening produced very few birds going to roost at the usual times of one hour after dusk. There was quite a bit of snow on the ground so birds sat out late before moving. The flock of 134 I was watching looked as though they would spend the night in the field but a check before dawn on Saturday morning proved that they had actually moved elsewhere during the night. Only 9 geese arrived at East Fannyside Loch on the same night.

No further news from Denmark about any of our birds being seen there.

Latest News - from Central Scotland - Bean Geese

The sun shone today and after a frosty start I was off to find the bean geese flock. I had found them yesterday in the northern sector of the study area, so had a good idea they would be back there today.

I wasn't disappointed. I had just arrived when 48 beans came past me in flight near to Castlecary High Wood. They flew west for 1/4 mile and then wheeled around and came back just in time to meet another flock of c40 birds who had followed them from further east probably Beam Farm or Tippetcraig. It was a lovely spectacle and with little wind their vocalising was a delight to hear.

On the field below there was already c100 birds so when they joined up it was a super sight to see so many geese after a few miserable days of seeing nothing.

A chap and his wife from the Chilterns who had arrived yesterday to see the flock, arrived a little later and were rewarded by having super views of the geese. I was pleased for them considering the distance they had come.

There were eight birds with collars in the flock which I was able to read today. See pictures of two of them below. 7Y adult male ringed 7th October 2013 and his mate 7Z ringed on the same day and date.

News update on the whereabouts of our bean geese.

I was out today in lovely sunshine looking for bean geese but came home empty handed as they all seemed to have found the most secluded spot on the plateau in which to feed.

It has been a  rather dreary past couple of weeks with easterly winds bringing in a lot of low cloud and mist which has made viewing difficult.

At the Fannyside roost area last night less than 100 birds came in from the north, with most settling on the large loch and the others going on to the muir pools.

On a more positive note it was nice to see some nice groups of Fieldfare and Redwing all showing well in the sunny conditions.

Latest News from Slamannan

After spending a week feeding near Slamannan the bean geese flock have now moved to feed in the northern fields of the study area.

Dawn and dusk flight have confirmed this change. Much of this area is not visible to monitor so numbers of birds in the sub groups are unknown.

A large flock of Pinkfeet c160 birds that were present near Slamannan have also now moved away.

For several days last week 5 Whooper Swans were present beside the River Avon at Hillend Farm.

They are liable to be chased away by the landowner/farmer as was noted one day last week. Being birds of habit they moved back to feed in the same field the following day.

Update on the Slamannan flock of Bean Geese

This past week has seen c150 birds feeding NW of Slamannan, with the rest of the flock further to the north of the area.

We now reckon we have about 212 birds this year but hopefully we will  get an accurate count in due course.

Roosting is still occurring at the Fannyside Lochs area.

A female Hen Harrier was seen on Garbethill Muir recently, a rare visitor these days as wintering birds have been scarce for some years now.

Latest News from Slamannan

With the bean geese arriving later than normal on the Slamannan Plateau they have not spent their usual period on the arrival fields but have already moved away and are now split into at least two flocks. One flock is NW of Slamannan and the larger group out to the north of the study area.

We have been able to download a lot of information from tags on two birds this winter and at present this is being analysed.

I attach a photo of the migration flight of one bird from Norway to Scotland this autumn. It shows how the birds can land in the sea overnight and continue their passage the following day.