Rogerstown Estuary, Turvey Hide - 21 Dec

My main target for the day was to get to Rogerstown Estuary. It's a known spot for winter geese and other estuary birds, and not too far from home. The walk from the car-park to the hide is through fallow fields, which attracts large flocks of winter finches. Linnets numbered in the hundreds, but there were also Greenfinch, Chaffinch and Goldfinch. The hide itself was closed, but no matter. The tide was put, and the mudflats had a nice variety of waders. Mainly Curlew and Redshank, but Greenshank and Black-tailed Godwit also present. The Pink-footed Goose that have been here since October were easy to find, grazing on the north side of the estuary, opposite the hide. A large flock of Brent Goose were in the fields west of the hide, along with hundreds of Lapwing. Ducks were mainly Eurasian Wigeon, Common Teal and Common Shelduck.

Several raptors showed up, including a Peregrine hunting along the north shore, 2 Common Buzzards soaring over the woods to the west, and a Merlin streaking through as I walked back to the car.

Pink-footed Goose. Part of a group of 8 that have been here since October

Greenfinch