Having decided that Bean Goose was a bird I needed to get in January, I got the train to Cantley and set my 'scope up to scan the geese. All pink-feet. Bugger. A two mile walk along the back lanes got me to Buckenham, where I would have gone had I not had the bright idea that they would be further east. Little birdlife on the way, a melanistic Pheasant was probably the only bird I stopped for, but I did see a Chinese Water Deer and a Stoat.
Buckenham didn't look promising, even the Wigeon had deserted the station end of the track. A juvenile Stonechat sat obligingly on a gate, the first year tick of the day. Watching the scrape near the Fisherman's car park a Ruff flew in to join the Teal and Lapwing. Further round a Meadow Pipit became bird no. 99. Finally, past the mill and looking towards the railway line, a flock of around 20 White-fronted Geese. Next to them were 15 Taiga Bean Geese (erroneously reported by someone as Tundra BG on Birguides when I got home). A snorting noise behind me made me look at the river, and bizarrely a bull Grey Seal was looking at me from the middle of the river! It dived and surfaced a few time, looking rather bemused. A Marsh Harrier flew over, and I wandered back. By the entrance to the reserve a white-morph Lesser Snow Goose was with a Greylag flock, a nice addition but won't be troubling the BOU list.
One weasel and 20 minutes later I arrived at Strumpshaw, where I had a nice chat with the warden. The reserve was quite quiet, a Black Swan from the Fen Hide (when do they qualify for Category C??) was the only bird of note, but on the way back towards Brundall, 2 Whooper swans flew low over, the final addition of the day.
Year List 102 Species
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