New picture to brighten your day

 In 2015 T8 was one of a juvenile pair who were caught with their parents on the Slamannan Plateau at Luckenburn farm.

Now back with us this winter again as a fully fledged adult female. Picture courtesy of Simon Rix in Norway who took this super shot near Akershus NE of Oslo some time ago..

Update from Slamannan 2 December 2021

 Dear Birders

Our taiga bean goose flock are behaving very much in a predictable way. Our total of c200 birds are well split up on most days with a major group of c100 birds being seen together but others in groups of small numbers up to c60.  On occasions recently some pairs have taken their juvs off to a quite spot away from others. 

Most of the feeding at present is centered around an area north of Slamannan with a variety of different fields being used on most days. 

For the visiting birder it is a good start to the day to park up at the playing fields just to the west of the primary School. Here you can scan to the north, west and east to look for birds. A scope is invaluable for this. On the down side a large flock of Pinkfeet are also in the area at present and on occasions sharing a field with the bean geese. At this distance identification can be difficult especially if the weather is dull as  the bean geese leg colours are not so evident. 

If you are lucky you will sometimes find them or some by the roadside. On these occasions always stay in your car to observe. Getting out for a better view is fatal as you will simply spook the birds.

We also have up to 65 Canada Geese on the plateau often accompanied with a small group of Greylag. A couple of Barnacle Geese have been seen too often with the Pinkfoot flock. A small group of Whooper Swan have also visited the area just to the east of Hillend Farm where heavy rain has created some flooded pools. 

Happy birding..

Angus

Taiga Bean Geese - flying to roost

Counting bean geese flying to roost can be a difficult process. It is helpful to know where the birds are feeding during the day so that flight lines can be identified.

Roost counts normally nowadays require 2/3 observers placed at the various roost sites that the birds use.

Counting birds flying overhead allows you to estimate each group so exact figures can rarely be counted. 

Bean Geese are often thought as a quiet species but flying to roost is always a noisy affair as can be heard on the video.

 

Update from Slamannan 18 October 21

 Dear All

Pleased to report that our numbers have continued to rise and now stand at a healthy total of c231 birds.

We have so far been able to identify six birds with collars/leg rings. Some dating back to 2011.

Our next task is to identify the juveniles within the flock and for that we need good viewing weather and for the birds to be settled in areas where vantage points are available.

For this task it is imperative that anyone viewing the birds does not disturb them as it makes them jumpy when they see people around the locations where they are feeding/preening/sleeping. 

Update from Slamannan today

 Hi all

Pleased to say that we have had an influx of beans this past few days. 

This morning in a fresh westerly wind we saw c117 birds near where they had been yesterday. Sadly the farmer who owns the field appeared in a 4x4 and disturbed them. He was probably checking on his cattle and calf's.

They moved west several hundred metres and re-located for a short while before moving again further west.

We followed them and had better counts of c135 birds including some birds with collars. 

See Below for collar 24 and 27. collar 6U was also noted but its mate Tag30 was not seen

Both of the above birds were caught and ringed on 24/10/2019 at Luckenburn Farm courtesy of the farmer Derek Hunter

News update on the bean geese migration..

 On 9th October Tags 39 & 20 flew to Thisted Denmark where they stayed last winter. Looks like they will do the same thing this year. 

As of yesterday we now have at least 48 birds back including one old white collar with a yellow ring on left leg. 

Also a stop press item today shows that Tag27 arrived yesterday meaning that our total of birds may be higher. More news later...

See below of flight of 39 & 20 plus pic below of roost area within a National Park Area 

News today from Slamannan

 News has come through tonight that a small flock of 9 taiga bean geese were seen on the plateau today and posted on twitter.

It would be really useful if the person (jimmyjimm) could contact me by phone 07801 951508 to confirm the location that he saw these birds. and especially the time of day. I have been out looking the past couple of days but have not been able to pick up this small group. We did have a report a couple of days ago of a small group flying over North Queensferry so we knew there was the possibility of a small group in the area. 

Regards

Angus Maciver