jamesneale89 Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 Just drove home from work , on A1 northbound and must have seen around 600+ greylag dropping into a fresh cut wheat field, it's quite near a lake just off junction 60 defo gna give farmer a knock and say I can be there on sept 1st anybody else seen geese around the north recently , I'm sure I seen the same amount last year at the same farm!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrispti Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 Plenty of Canada's buzzing about down south Wont be long until they find the stubble fields, then move off onto the marsh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutty Boots Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 Seen a few dozen Canadas about for a while, Pinks usually start to arrive here from mid September & the Greys follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 Quite a few resident Greylag about on lune estuary at weekend, there will be a few around on all the usual haunts for resident birds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reabrook Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 (edited) Surprising lack of Canada's around my way. They are usually starting to get about the fields by now but so far nothing. I did see a pack of 20 mallard on some stubble when I went into work this morning. The curlew have also been noticeable by their absence this year as well. Though they are never super abundant I've seen/ heard one all summer when I would normally expect to see at least a dozen or so. Reports from further afield are saying that the curlew are already back on the saltings and that Brent are starting to arrive on the Southern coast. Going to be an interesting season Edited July 31, 2012 by Reabrook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RossEM Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 Hundreds of Canadas on and around the lake behind my house (can't shoot it, residential area, annoying ) and a small skein of Greylag appeared about a month ago. Also saw a random Pochard drake last week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alastair0903 Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 my father combined 20 acre of winter barley on sunday , on monday morning there was 60 greylag feeding . they will hang around until a day before the season starts then we will never see them again ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39TDS Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 I was only thinking this morning that the air felt like the geese would be here any day now. Might sound daft but it's what I thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesneale89 Posted July 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 there must of been at least 600+ i was driving up and thought is that geese i can see , skein after skein piling into this freshcut field , if only it was september already !!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 I was only thinking this morning that the air felt like the geese would be here any day now. Might sound daft but it's what I thought. its not what its doing here - its what its like on the summer breeding grounds that dictates the move though, let us not be fooled. Last year it was warmer in Russia and the widgeon stopped there a while longer and why in the heck not? i can't blame them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 Surprising lack of Canada's around my way. They are usually starting to get about the fields by now but so far nothing. I did see a pack of 20 mallard on some stubble when I went into work this morning. The curlew have also been noticeable by their absence this year as well. Though they are never super abundant I've seen/ heard one all summer when I would normally expect to see at least a dozen or so. Reports from further afield are saying that the curlew are already back on the saltings and that Brent are starting to arrive on the Southern coast. Going to be an interesting season its been a bad breeding year for cerlew here on the moor, even though the crows are pretty much gone and foxes very sorted the rain has taken a heavy toll. Although they came in numbers and sat i saw no young Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesneale89 Posted August 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 drove past on the way to work this monring and the field was grey!!! defo a lot more than yesterday, worth giving the farmer a knock?? or do you thgink theyll clear of before season starts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakin stevens Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 drove past on the way to work this monring and the field was grey!!! defo a lot more than yesterday, worth giving the farmer a knock?? or do you thgink theyll clear of before season starts? its sounds a bit early for a wheat field to be cut, probably barley, so more than likely rape will follow next so it will be ripped up in the next week or so and drilled. They wont go far until they find the next spot, if they are on it late afternoon they would be likely in the same field day after, then the scouts find another field in the day and they move, its a wild goose chase!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reabrook Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 its been a bad breeding year for cerlew here on the moor, even though the crows are pretty much gone and foxes very sorted the rain has taken a heavy toll. Although they came in numbers and sat i saw no young Not sure they even came here to be honest even though the flood meadows and flashes looked ideal this year. Along the river valley and one particular piece of high ground I usually see 5 or 6 breeding pairs most managing at least one brood. I can understand that they have had a bad breeding season, what hasn't but not to turn up at all is a tad perplexing? I have a real soft spot for the curlew and would love to see them back on the quarry list. They were still legal when I first picked up a gun but I had my sights on what I thought was a more noble quarry in those days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big bad lindz Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 I thought the few greys we have seen in the Dornoch Firth and Inverness area were early this year. These are the resident geese that normialy have a summer roost in north west Sutherland and Caithness and have started to come down to the feeding grounds although haversting of the crops has not started yet but lots of silage has been cut. The geese were also very late in moving away this year. By the comments it sounds like the greys are begining to reside in more numbers in the summer further south, is this been the norm in the past. It must be to do with the weather I suppose. The few ringed geese that I have been able to shoot were all resident either from the Cathness area or the Orkneys. Although I will have plenty of areas to shoot both on the shore & on stubble I have a holiday booked for the Orkneys for the end of September and I cant wait. BBL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoggy Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 We have quite a few greys and Canadas on the Washes, Most of them fly over my house after returning from spending the evenings on the gravel pits in the area. They have their favourite fields where they like to gather in. But come Sept....They`ve changed fields!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesneale89 Posted August 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 It's 100% wheat I know my crops, everything's being cut early this year as the heat and rain we've had up here has accelerated the growth and ripening if crop, i drive to work everyday and never noticed geese so they must be early or traveled up from the south Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reabrook Posted August 2, 2012 Report Share Posted August 2, 2012 It's 100% wheat I know my crops, everything's being cut early this year as the heat and rain we've had up here has accelerated the growth and ripening if crop, i drive to work everyday and never noticed geese so they must be early or traveled up from the south What makes you think they have travelled up from the South? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesneale89 Posted August 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2012 just thought they must of cos we have no resident geese round our area so either the south or the west i presume Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesneale89 Posted August 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2012 just thought they must of cos we have no resident geese round our area so either the south or the west i presume Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
margun Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 Loads of greylags starting to move between the lakes by me within the last week or so. Broken into skeins of about 20-30 birds, I reckon there's 250 or so around the reserve here - yet another good breeding season for the residents. Roll on September - can't wait to get into the early season birds on the stubble! :yahoo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psyxologos Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 Today I saw a skein of (maybe) 200 greylags landing on a field. What a magnificent sight... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoggy Posted August 8, 2012 Report Share Posted August 8, 2012 Today I saw a skein of (maybe) 200 greylags landing on a field. What a magnificent sight... To right mate. a skein of around 60 came over my house last night. My new pup just looked up and wondered what all the noise was!!. Great to see though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39TDS Posted August 18, 2012 Report Share Posted August 18, 2012 They are back! Must have been 1000 went over last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted August 19, 2012 Report Share Posted August 19, 2012 None in Perthshire, nor will there be until 19th February. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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