An Easter weekend break at my parent's in Norfolk gave me an opportunity to top up my year list. It also gave me the chance to look for a rare goose that had been in the area around Cley and Blakeney for a few weeks. The Red-breasted Goose was associating with a flock of Brent Geese, and most likely had joined the wrong flock as it left it's wintering grounds. This was the first seen in Norfolk since 1988 and the first time I had seen one outside of a Wildfowl and Wetland Trust centre, where they help to captively breed this endangered bird. With only 40,000 of these birds estimated to be in the wild, these really are on the brink. Whatever this birds origin, it was a real pleasure to be able to see it and spend some time with it.
It wasn't an easy find. Blakeney is quite a vast area with long grass and vegetation. Add to that, multiple flocks of Brent Geese to scan through, it was down to my trusty side-kick Lisa to actually pick it out and make my day. We were able to follow the path in it's direction to get closer views. There was the river Glaven between us and it, and a good 50-100 yards. It continued to feed and walk towards us and gave me a great opportunity to get some shots that I didn't think I would ever get. What a special bird it is.
