Oh Deary Me...

I set my alarm last night. Did so for a reasonable hour, intending to get out for what promised to be a morning of possibility at the Nose.

Turned the damn thing off in my sleep...

Ratses.

While I recognise that I evidently needed the sleep, it's still frustrating [[and I never do it when I have to work, bladdy subconscious...]]. So, I scrap plan a and think about plan b. I figured that there'd be no point going over there on a bright Saturday - after all, that super-wonderful SEO was a one-off, wasn't it? [[Go look at Devon Bird News if you don't get that joke..]] Admittedly, Patch patrolling with a dodgy tendon isn't the best idea anyway [well, not when your Patch is as hilly as mine..], but the need is there, you know?

I decided on a nice Wild Goose Chase. Masochist...

I should know by now that chasing geese around the Exe is asking for trouble. The blimmin' things fly around and are never where you look when you're looking. So, I limped all around Exminster, from the bridge to the canal, past Turf to Powderham and back via the path. I saw 5 Canada Geese. I did find the main Brent flock, which is a radical turnup for the books, and probably only because I wasn't actually looking for them. They were on the mud between the Exe and Clyst channels, munching the weed and looking very pretty in the low sunshine. Previously I met a Cetti's and 18 Shoveler, 2 Pochard, a few Tufties, and a whole heap of Wigeon and Teal.

I got into my li'l car knowing I had enough light left for one more site, but which one? Sod it, I'd try Dart's Farm.

A glance as I drove the bends showed a bunch of Canada Geese, and an RSPB chap I met in the car park confirmed that not only was the Greenland Whitefront present, but also the Red-breasted Goose, the Barnacle [wow], a 'Canada/Bar-head' hybrid and something odd that might be a Nutcracker [Ahem...] I didn't see the odd thing, and the bloody White-front had flown off [with the Barnacle and about a hundred Canadas], but the Red-breasted Goose was still present.

And how.

There's a blind at Dart's Farm. They call it a hide but its a blind. A very nice one, but still a blind. I had no idea it existed [to be fair its new] until the RSPB chap told me. Thus it was that some really good views could be had of the Red-breasted Goose and the 6 Brent Geese it was with [See that? ;) ] and the 304 Canadas they were near to. They came very close for geese, and in the low sunlight they were utterly gorgeous. What is it about hides? They knew we were there [there were 4 others with me], the Red-breast looked up every time someone spoke, and several of the Canadas were alert to any movement, but still the flock as a whole kept doing their things.

Speaking of their things, it was clear that the Brents and Red-breast were 'by but not with' the Canadas, and that of the Brents, there was a family group of 5 plus a hanger-on [the RBG acting as a second hanger-on]. Its interesting that not all the Brents have a taste for Eelgrass.

After I'd checked the sneaky little gullies for a hiding White-front, it was too late to go chasing it, as the sun was already sinking behind Haldon [dratted subconscience...], so I had to eat another dip. Oh well, not like I've never seen one before. It just would have been nice, you know?

And finally; I'm not chasing a Devon Yearlist, but if I was, that's 220. Ye gods.......