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Psilos Bird Photography |
The Pink feet of Martinmere |
Its an early October morning at Martinmere.
The sun is up and the air is clear and warm, the nip of autumn only
just beginning to show itself. On the mere there are the usual gatherings
of Mallard with an increasing number of teal and pintail. On the waters
edge there are large numbers of lapwing and black headed gulls. A solitary
snipe sits on the waters edge too foraging for worms with his long beak,
whilst the odd juvenile ruff flies out. All is still, peaceful and very
quiet as we wait..... Slowly my ears pick out the sound that I have
been waiting for. Faint at first but still familiar, the sound begins
to build. They are coming from behind the hide so I cannot see them
until they are almost upon the mere. As they fly overhead and circle
round for their final landing the sound of hundreds of Pink footed Geese
calling is deafening. |
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Breaking ranks from their tight formation
they drop their legs and spiral down, hitting the water with a rather
untidy splash. Their arrival has created a buzz amongst the other birds
too and the whole mere comes to life with frenzied activity. Over the
next half hour the scene is punctuated by the arrival of several more
large skeins of geese. The water is crowded with birds but there are
many more thousands on the surrounding grass too. There are approximately
10,000 geese here today. |
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The Pink foot is a beautiful goose. During
the summer months it breeds up in Iceland and Greenland and comes here
for the winter months. Along with the Whooper swan and a wide variety
of other wildfowl they are fed throughout the winter and so Martinmere
has become a haven of significant wildfowl conservation. When the light
shines on them I think they are a very photogenic bird. |
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