Tom Lowe

Who knows! But based on trajectory, maybe Aberystwyth?!

Collage of four distant phonescoped images of a passing adult Iceland Gull showing the white wingtips and pale grey upperparts

#salopobs garden tick 💥151💥 came in the form of an adult Iceland Gull this morning, WSW over Condover at 0838. Amazing, especially in this era of dwindling wingers. I take it all back @danbranch94.bsky.social! #ukbirding

Glaucous Gull montage. 2cy left, 3cy right

The 3cy Glauc at Waxham may be a returning bird with a particularly knobbly right "knee". Photographed as a 2cy last winter by @patrickgoffin1965.bsky.social and as a 3cy today by @pterodroma.bsky.social #norfolkbirding #lovegulls

Glaucous Gull montage. 2cy left and 3cy right

I'm calling it - that spur on the right "knee" matches! #norfolkbirding

The pale eye is a bit of a giveaway! Interesting to note there was a juv at Waxham in the spring... (and they're so scarce in general nowadays)

Different ages surely?

Todd’s Canada, min 47 Russian Whitefront, fem Hen Harrier through east, 52 Barnacle best of Banks Marsh #UKbirding

Nice one, thanks Stuart! Great bird (and not the one I saw in Norfolk the week before)

Russian White-fronted and Pink-footed Geese in the rain

373 Russian Whitefronts amongst a flock of Pinks on Rawcliffe Moss this morning was a nice result. No sign of moving on yet despite the change in weather #lancsbirding #ukbirding

Hope you see it. Yeah, getting better on here I think, and I abandoned Twitter a long time ago! Shame we've all been spread across different platforms now

Thanks Colin. I miss him, wish he'd post on here more regularly

Distant Todd's Canada Goose with Pink-footed Geese on the marsh with the houses of Lytham across the Ribble in the background

Another week, another Todd's Canada, this one on Crossens Outer Marsh with Pinks currently. Also 8+ Russian Whitefronts and 10+ Barnacle Geese #lancsbirding #ukbirding

Look at that belly!

Russian White-fronted Geese in a Fylde pasture

Still 450+ Russian Whitefronts around the Fylde today, including a couple of three figure flocks and twos and threes in almost every flock of Pinks. So good #lancsbirding

Big 2cy male Caspian Gull amongst Herring Gulls

Big 2cy male Caspian Gull in a wings raised stand off amongst Herring Gulls

Big 2cy male Caspian Gull amongst Herring Gulls

This big 2cy #CaspianGull was a nice addition to the totals in the Battlefield gull field just north of Shrewsbury on my way to work today #shropshirebirding #ukbirding

Atrocious videograb of 6 Russian White-fronted Geese in flight. You can sort of make out the small size, slender wings and dark tones... sort of

A glorious springlike morning at #salopobs and another 6 Russian Whitefronts flew north across a backdrop of Skylark song. That's at least 1,772 that I've seen around Shrops, Lancs and Norfolk this winter #ukbirding

Amazing! Seems increasingly unlikely for us sky-scanners these days 😢

L to R: Barnacle with some Cackling genes (note the white collar and mahogany tinged breast), Atlantic Canada, hybrid Barnacle x Cackling Geese

Hybrid Barnacle x Cackling Geese

Atlantic Canadas, hybrid Barnacle x Cackling Geese, Moorhen

Canada, Barnacle and Cackling Goose genes in various bodies

I've had misgivings for a while, but @mattdenial.bsky.social's videos prove that the Branston brantas are a real pickle. Six show mixed features (white foreheads and/or dark breasts) and even the "Barnacle" shows a white collar and mahogany-tinged breast. All F1 & F2 hybrids to my eye #lincsbirding

Or is it the wrong bird in the photo, and we've got a backcross Cackler x Cackacle with 5 Cackacle offspring?!

That's a hybrid - look at the obvious ghosting of the dark breast of a Barnacle. Even though it lacks the white forehead patch that the others show

Bedraggled Hoopoe on barbed wire

In a break from gulls and geese, called in to see #shropshirebirding latest visitor, a wintering Hoopoe in an equally scruffy paddock just outside Telford at Isombridge. Showed well at 1635 then flew north along the lane #ukbirding

2cy Caspian Gull

4 Dutch Barnacle Geese

7 Russian White-fronted Geese with Greylags and Lapwings

2 Dark-bellied Brent Geese (and 2cy Caspian Gull)

Mildly Dutch at Novartis Ings this morning: still 4 Barnacle Geese, 7 Russian Whitefronts and 2 DBBrents, and a smart 2cy #CaspianGull on the way in #lincsbirding #ukbirding

Home from Norfolk now, and no geese at all in the Honey Hills field when we checked yday. Tuesday evening's Todd's Canada was a dinky little cracker, and plumage details make it the same as @mcbuckland.bsky.social's Burnham Overy bird from mid Jan bsky.app/profile/mcbu... #norfolkbirding #ukbirding

There are some old schemes from Seal Sands area that it could be (although I don't know details). Maybe try euring.org

🥳 Great birds

Awesome. They were always going to be Dutch, having arrived with all the Russian Whitefronts, but brilliant to (hopefully) have some confirmation 👌

25

Not sure but if @kanebrides.bsky.social doesn't know then @stevepercival.bsky.social definitely will. Thanks

Pair of feral Atlantic Canada Geese (form canadensis) with Russian White-fronted Geese

No probs. Superficially similar but our Canadas are much bigger and paler-breasted (see attached photo of Whitefronts which are basically the same size as the Pinkfeet in the Todd's photo, and the Canadas dwarf them even when relaxed). Dingy brown breast, skinny neck and shallow bill are all Todd's

Made up! Fingers crossed 🤞