Posts Tagged ‘Egyptian Goose’

Naturelog: 30th March

Posted: March 30, 2020 in Birds, Natural History
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I am lucky to have the Tarn next to where we live and so it has become my daily exercise route. I visited this morning hoping to find some spring migrants.

There were good numbers of geese present and a sign that spring has arrived was evident by the noise and the ‘fights’ breaking out between pairs as they seek to establish their own plot within the Tarn. Our Canada / Greylag pair is back, which makes the 4 years at least that this hybrid pair have bred together. The pair of Egyptian Geese, always early breeders, already have young – 3 as best I could see without getting too close.

  • Greylag Goose
  • Canada Goose
  • Egyptian Goose
  • Egyptian Goose with young

As I reached the far side of the tarn I saw a small bird on one of the nesting rafts. It was a Grey Wagtail, often a winter visitor on the Tarn, although I haven’t seen one here this winter, so maybe a passage migrant. It flew from the raft over to the weir which is often a good place to see them during the winter.

Grey Wagtail

As I climbed up to the road, I saw a Nuthatch trying to get into a nest box. This is the second time I have seen this behaviour. I don’t think they can be after anything inside as their diet consists of insects, nuts and seeds, so maybe they are trying to make the hole big enough for them to get inside to use the box (the holes are usually too small).

  • Eurasian Coot

Naturelog: 5th January

Posted: January 8, 2019 in Birds, Natural History
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A morning walk with the warden at the Kent Wildlife Trust reserve at Bough Beech near Sevenoaks. This is a working reservoir but the northern end is managed as a nature reserve.

The morning starts well with a Barn Owl which has taken to roosting in a Tawny Owl nest box.

Barn Owl

Making our way to the orchard, we record a number of small birds including Blue, Great and Marsh Tits, Nuthatch, Dunnock, Robin, Goldfinch and Chaffinch. A flock of Fieldfare erupt from out of the trees and one is later seen gorging on the fallen apples in the orchard.

Dunnock

Then it is onto the reservoir where there are a number of duck species. I miss a brief view of a Mandarin Duck and there are no Goosander or Great White Egret two of the specialities of the site.

Great Cormorant
Great Cormorant
Egyptian Goose

Then back to the car park and one last chance to view the Barn Owl before departing

A good morning walk with some excellent birds.

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca)
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)
Gadwall [sp] (Mareca strepera)
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca)
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
Common Pheasant [sp] (Phasianus colchicus)
Great Crested Grebe [sp] (Podiceps cristatus)
Grey Heron [sp] (Ardea cinerea)
Little Egret [sp] (Egretta garzetta)
Great Cormorant [sp] (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
European Herring Gull [sp] (Larus argentatus)
Common Wood Pigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)
Western Barn Owl [sp] (Tyto alba)
Eurasian Jay [sp] (Garrulus glandarius)
Eurasian Magpie [sp] (Pica pica)
Carrion Crow [sp] (Corvus corone)
Marsh Tit [sp] (Poecile palustris)
Eurasian Blue Tit [sp] (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Great Tit [sp] (Parus major)
Long-tailed Tit [sp] (Aegithalos caudatus)
Eurasian Nuthatch [sp] (Sitta europaea)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)
Mistle Thrush [sp] (Turdus viscivorus)
European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)
Dunnock [sp] (Prunella modularis)
Common Chaffinch [sp] (Fringilla coelebs)
European Goldfinch [sp] (Carduelis carduelis)

Norfolk Journey 2018: Day 12

Posted: October 5, 2018 in Birds, Natural History, Norfolk, UK
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A short drive today brings us to Pensthorpe Nature Reserve. This is a private reserve founded by a local landowner and businessman Bill Jordon. It is part wildfowl collection; part conservation centre and part nature reserve. It is also the centre of a local partnership seeking to combine modern farming and good habitat for wildlife. It has a diverse range of habitats and our first stop is at the wader scrape, where there are a number of species of geese and other waterbirds.


From here we pass on into the woodland and from the hide, we have excellent views of Nuthatch, Coal Tit and Marsh Tit along with more common woodland birds.

Nuthatch and Great Tit

After stopping at the visitor centre for lunch we visit the wetland hide, where 2 Green Sandpipers and a female Goldeneye are the best birds to be seen.

Goldeneye (f) (top left), Little Grebe (bottom left), Moorhen (top right), Eurasian Teal (centre right) and Egyptian Goose (bottom right).

Greylag Goose [sp] (Anser anser)
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca)
Gadwall [sp] (Mareca strepera)
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca)
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
Common Goldeneye [sp] (Bucephala clangula)
Common Pheasant [sp] (Phasianus colchicus)
Little Grebe [sp] (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Great Crested Grebe [sp] (Podiceps cristatus)
Little Egret [sp] (Egretta garzetta)
Great Cormorant [sp] (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Red Kite [sp] (Milvus milvus)
Common Buzzard [sp] (Buteo buteo)
Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
Common Snipe [sp] (Gallinago gallinago)
Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus)
Ivory Gull (Pagophila eburnea)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
Mew Gull [sp] (Larus canus)
European Herring Gull [sp] (Larus argentatus)
Common Wood Pigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)
Western Barn Owl [sp] (Tyto alba)
Peregrine Falcon [sp] (Falco peregrinus)
Eurasian Jay [sp] (Garrulus glandarius)
Western Jackdaw [sp] (Coloeus monedula)
Carrion Crow [sp] (Corvus corone)
Coal Tit [sp] (Periparus ater)
Marsh Tit [sp] (Poecile palustris)
Eurasian Blue Tit [sp] (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Great Tit [sp] (Parus major)
Barn Swallow [sp] (Hirundo rustica)
Eurasian Nuthatch [sp] (Sitta europaea)
Common Starling [sp] (Sturnus vulgaris)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)
House Sparrow [sp] (Passer domesticus)
Dunnock [sp] (Prunella modularis)
Common Chaffinch [sp] (Fringilla coelebs)

 

Naturelog: 30th March

Posted: March 31, 2017 in Birds, Butterflies and Moths, London, Natural History, Reptiles and Amphibians, UK
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The Tarn

Spring is here and so a new recording season begins. Having had a break over the winter from any formalised recording it is time to begin again for Butterflies, Dragonflies and Bumblebees on my patch and for Birds at Eltham Park. So a bright March day saw me doing the first of my weekly walks around the Tarn.

An early surprise was a Stock Dove in the Garden as I set out to walk down to the Tarn. This is the first record for me on the patch and although I didn’t disturb it, the bird had disappeared by the time I returned. On the walk down to the Tarn, I recorded my first Butterfly of 2017 a Speckled Wood.

Arriving at the Tarn the usual residents were in evidence but as I walked around the lake there was little evidence of Butterfly activity. Apart from the overwintering species, the first emergers are usually the Orange-Tips and eventually, a pair flew past me at the east end of the lake.

Orange Tip (m). Photo by Tim Hodson (https://www.flickr.com/photos/informationtakesover/)

Tracking back up the south side and doing the wildfowl count whilst also looking out for butterflies I reached the sluice gate at the south-western end when a flash of iridescent blue sped away from me across the Lake – a Common Kingfisher – the first of the year – it must have been perched somewhere nearby in the bushes and took flight at my approach. As I left to make my way back home, a female Brimstone butterfly flew lazily across the path.

It’s been a while since I saw a Terrapin here, but this one was taking the opportunity to sun itself.

Egyptian Goose

Coot trying out a potential nest site

The Tarn

 

Greylag Goose [sp] (Anser anser)
Canada Goose [sp] (Branta canadensis)
Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
Eurasian Sparrowhawk [sp] (Accipiter nisus)
Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)
Stock Dove [sp] (Columba oenas)
Rose-ringed Parakeet [sp] (Psittacula krameri)
Common Kingfisher [sp] (Alcedo atthis)
Carrion Crow [sp] (Corvus corone)
Great Tit [sp] (Parus major)
Eurasian Blue Tit [sp] (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)

Butterflies

Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni)

Speckled Wood [sp] (Pararge aegeria)

Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines)

Naturelog: 21st March

Posted: March 21, 2017 in Birds, London, Natural History, UK
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A bright sunny morning and a chance to have a stroll around the Tarn. As I approached a bird flew across my path and headed out east along the water’s edge – A female Northern Wheatear, my second record for the site. Unfortunately, I was unable to relocate it and it probably continued out onto the adjoining golf course, a much more suitable habitat for this species.

 

There were a good number of geese present – 8 Canada Geese; 5 Greylag Geese;1 hybrid and 3 Egyptian Geese. It looks as though our Greylag – Canada pairing are back again together with one of their offspring.

Canada Goose

Greylag Goose

Egyptian Goose

Canada x Greylag Hybrid

There seems little evidence of nesting yet, although one Coot was gathering twigs. Interesting how sites vary, given that Keith and I had seen chicks at the Wetland Centre last Friday.

It was good to see the Tarn without its green covering and I hope that this will remain so over the summer months.

 

Naturelog: 2nd December

Posted: December 5, 2016 in Birds, London, Natural History, UK
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Keith and I are back at the London Wetland Centre in search of the wintering Bitterns which have finally arrived from their breeding grounds on the continent. It is thought there are currently 2-3 of these secretive birds on the reserve and there have been daily sightings in the past few weeks. On arrival we can see that the cold weather has caused some of the smaller ponds to freeze and the waterbirds tread uneasily as it appears they are walking on water.

Eurasian Coot

Eurasian Coot

We make our way down the western arm as this is where the Bitterns have been most commonly seen. Whilst searching we find a Yellow-legged gull amongst a group of Herring and Lesser-Black-backed gulls. This southern European species is a winter visitor which is spreading north in its range. But alas no Bitterns.

Yellow-legged Gull. Photo by Francesco Veroesi. (https://www.flickr.com/photos/francesco_veronesi/)

Yellow-legged Gull. Photo by Francesco Veroesi. (https://www.flickr.com/photos/francesco_veronesi/)

Having drawn a blank we proceed to the eastern arm and in the first hide find another of our rarer wintering gulls, a juvenile Caspian Gull. This species breeds around the Caspian and Black seas and in Eastern Europe but is increasingly being seen in the UK. But still no Bittern!

Juvenile Caspian Gull. Photo by Keith

Juvenile Caspian Gull. Photo by Keith

Our day ends in the Tower hide, in the hope of a Bittern flying to roost, but alas we are not to be lucky today. They had been seen but never at the place /time that we were there – still there is always another day. A good day for gulls though with 7 species seen.

There is a Bittern in this reed-bed...... somewhere!

There is a Bittern in this reed-bed…… somewhere!

 

Green Woodpecker

Green Woodpecker

 

Egyptian Goose

Egyptian Goose

 

Northern Shoveler

Northern Shoveler

 

Greylag Goose [sp] (Anser anser)
Canada Goose [sp] (Branta canadensis)
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca)
Gadwall (Anas strepera)
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
Eurasian Teal [sp] (Anas crecca)
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
Great Crested Grebe [sp] (Podiceps cristatus)
Grey Heron [sp] (Ardea cinerea)
Great Cormorant [sp] (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Water Rail [sp] (Rallus aquaticus)
Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
Common Snipe [sp] (Gallinago gallinago)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
Common Gull (Larus canus canus)
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)
European Herring Gull [sp] (Larus argentatus)
Caspian Gull (Larus cachinnans)
Yellow-legged Gull [sp] (Larus michahellis)
Lesser Black-backed Gull [sp] (Larus fuscus)
Common Pigeon [sp] (Columba livia)
Common Wood Pigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)
Rose-ringed Parakeet [sp] (Psittacula krameri)
European Green Woodpecker [sp] (Picus viridis)
Eurasian Magpie [sp] (Pica pica)
Western Jackdaw [sp] (Coloeus monedula)
Carrion Crow [sp] (Corvus corone)
Great Tit [sp] (Parus major)
Eurasian Blue Tit [sp] (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Cetti’s Warbler [sp] (Cettia cetti)
Eurasian Wren [sp] (Troglodytes troglodytes)
Common Starling [sp] (Sturnus vulgaris)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
Mistle Thrush [sp] (Turdus viscivorus)
European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)
Dunnock [sp] (Prunella modularis)
Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii)
Common Chaffinch [sp] (Fringilla coelebs)
European Goldfinch [sp] (Carduelis carduelis)
Common Reed Bunting [sp] (Emberiza schoeniclus)

Naturelog: 9th September

Posted: September 14, 2016 in Birds, Butterflies and Moths, Dragonflies, London, Natural History, UK
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dscn2707a

Having a couple of hours to spare after an appointment in central London and having the previous day failed to catch up with either Brown Hawker or Southern Hawker Dragonflies at London Wetland Centre, I decided to go for a walk around the lake in Regents Park to see if I could remedy this.

dscn2708a

As usual, the lake held its normal array of waterbirds, including 3 species of geese, all present in good numbers.

Egyptian Geese

Egyptian Geese

Greylag Goose

Greylag Goose

Canada Goose

Canada Goose

One surprise was to find Coot that were still nesting. I located 2 nests, one of which had young visible.

Nesting Coot

Nesting Coot

Young Coot

Young Coot

On the dragonfly front, I was not successful with only Common Darter being recorded.

Common Darter

Common Darter

 

Greylag Goose [sp] (Anser anser)
Canada Goose [sp] (Branta canadensis)
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
Little Grebe [sp] (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Grey Heron [sp] (Ardea cinerea)
Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
European Herring Gull [sp] (Larus argentatus)
Lesser Black-backed Gull [sp] (Larus fuscus)
Common Pigeon [sp] (Columba livia)
Common Wood Pigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)
Eurasian Magpie [sp] (Pica pica)
Carrion Crow [sp] (Corvus corone)

Large White (Pieris brassicae)

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)

Eye to Eye contact

Posted: November 24, 2015 in Birds, Natural History
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Who is going to blink first?

DSCN9882

This Egyptian Goose was determined to stare me out using a wall to make up for the height difference.

Naturelog: 12th May

Posted: May 13, 2015 in Birds, Butterflies and Moths, Natural History
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DSCN7307a

Its been two weeks since I have done the butterfly and dragonfly survey on my patch, so I am keen to see what changes there may have been. It is a warm afternoon but there is a stiff breeze which is obviously not ideal.

The Garden draws a blank and so I set off towards the Tarn. As I reach the entrance a Peacock butterfly drifts across my path. Common Carder Bees and White-tailed Bees are actively feeding on the flowers. A Small White Butterfly flies across a patch of flowers, but along with another seen later in the walk that is to be the sum of the butterflies seen today.

It looks like it has been snowing but it is actually a fall of seeds from one of the trees.

DSCN7298a

DSCN7299a

The Damselfly pool is looking in very poor state at the moment with almost no living pond vegetation. Still looking back over the last couple of years I have not had records till June from here so it is to be hoped that there will still be some live larvae to emerge in the coming weeks,

Mallard and Greylag Geese have both got young. I could only count 7 Greylag goslings (11 two weeks ago), but they are well tucked away so it may be that the remainder may just be out of view. Strangely the Canada Geese seem to be making no attempt at nesting although they are hanging around in pairs. The 2 Egyptian geese, which arrived about a month ago, are still present.

Mallard with young

Mallard with young

 

 

Egyptian Geese

Egyptian Geese

I find the resident Terrapin sunning himself on the retaining wall of one of the islands. Its been a few visits since I last saw him and I did wonder if he was still around.

DSCN7304a

 

DSCN7300a

Greylag Goose [sp] (Anser anser)
Canada Goose [sp] (Branta canadensis)
Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca)
Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)
Common Pigeon [sp] (Columba livia)
Common Wood Pigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)
Rose-ringed Parakeet [sp] (Psittacula krameri)
European Green Woodpecker [sp] (Picus viridis)
Eurasian Magpie [sp] (Pica pica)
Carrion Crow [sp] (Corvus corone)
Eurasian Wren [sp] (Troglodytes troglodytes)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)

Small White (Artogeia rapae)
Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io)

Naturelog: 7th April

Posted: April 8, 2015 in Birds, Insects, Natural History
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A sunny warm afternoon for my weekly survey walk on the patch. Expectations high for some butterflies and other insects especially as I had seen an Orange-Tip butterfly whilst in Bromley earlier in the day.

DSCN6389a

Geese were present in good numbers and appeared to have settled disputes over territory (at least for the time being) with pairs of Greylag and Canada spaced around the edge of the Tarn and on the islands. At the golf course end my gaze was drawn to some geese at the far end of the Tarn, even more so when one flashed it wings and showed a huge patch of white. Through the binoculars I could make out that two of them were in fact Egyptian Geese (my first record here in 15 years).

Egyptian Goose

Egyptian Goose

There are two particularly good areas for insects on the walk and the first didn’t disappoint with 2 Common Carder-Bees and a Red-tailed Bee, but no butterflies.

,Common Carder Bee. Bombus pascorum. Queen
Common Carder Bee
Photo by Gail Hampshire (https://www.flickr.com/photos/gails_pictures/)

IMG_2067 Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
Red-tailed Bee
Photo by Tony Morris (https://www.flickr.com/photos/tonymorris/)

The area around the damsel-fly pool also had a Red-tailed Bee. I lingered here as this is the prime spot for Orange-Tip on the site but still no sightings. Checking my records for last year the first was seen on April 1st so despite the mild winter things seem to be lingering no doubt because it has been quite cool until this week.

The addition of the Egyptian goose brings my site total to 67 species

Greylag Goose [sp] (Anser anser)
Canada Goose [sp] (Branta canadensis)
Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)
Common Pigeon [sp] (Columba livia)
Common Wood Pigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)
Rose-ringed Parakeet [sp] (Psittacula krameri)
Eurasian Magpie [sp] (Pica pica)
Great Tit [sp] (Parus major)
Eurasian Blue Tit [sp] (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Long-tailed Tit [sp] (Aegithalos caudatus)
Eurasian Wren [sp] (Troglodytes troglodytes)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)

Common Carder Bee
Red-tailed Bee

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