Geese flock in but Twite fade away

Twite (Dave Williams)

The recent influx of European White-fronted Geese into Britain has been unprecedented in modern Welsh ornithology. Last week, 215 of these Russian-breeding waterbirds accompanied Pink-footed Geese and a small group of Barnacle Geese, on the floodplain of the River Dee near Holt. It is the largest flock in North Wales since the 1950s, and the largest anywhere in Wales since 1979. Another 30 were at Shotwick Fields and 68 in the Clwyd Valley south of Bodfari, with six making it as far west at the Glaslyn Valley, alongside six Pink-footed Geese and 51 Whooper Swans.

A dozen Twite feed on Flint Marsh, a diminishing wintering population in North Wales. Around 200 wintered at Flint little over a decade ago, and ringing shows that the Dee estuary held Twite that bred in the Hebrides, Pennines and Eryri’s Nant Ffrancon. Breeding birds are virtually extinct at English and Welsh sites, while those from farther north now tend to stay in Scotland. The unusual English name is derived from its simple “tweet” call, whereas Llinos y Mynydd is more descriptive as the “Mountain Linnet”.

The Beddmanarch Bay/Inland Sea holds up to seven Slavonian Grebes, Long-tailed Duck and Great Northern Divers, while the count of Purple Sandpipers at nearby Trearddur Bay reached 25 last week with a Cattle Egret on the edge of the village. Elsewhere on Anglesey, a couple of Scaup are at Llyn Llygeirian with others in Foryd Bay and Llyn Tegid.

Snow Buntings were at Gronant dunes and Llanddona last week, Lesser Yellowlegs and Water Pipit remain on the Clwyd estuary and a Black Redstart at Kinmel Bay. On the Menai Strait, a Little Gull and two Slavonian Grebes fed off Aber Ogwen, and a Green-winged Teal grazes saltmarsh at Glan-y-môr Elias. The first Swallows were spotted in southwest England and a couple of Sand Martins sneaked past us into northern England in Sunday’s sunshine.

There are a few places left on a free Breeding Bird Survey Introduction & Practice Session in Porthmadog on 15 March, open to anyone involved with, or wishing to adopt a square for the annual BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey. Full details on the BTO website.