There were 161 greylag geese grazing away on the Budge fields this afternoon. There haven't been any cows grazing there since November.
Grazers measure livestock in units, one cow is one unit, one sheep is 0.15 units, one goose is ?
It's going to take more than 161 honkers to get the Budge fields looking like suitable lapwing habitat by the spring, especially as they won't touch the big clumps of rush dominating the site, NWT seem as reluctant to tackle the rush clumps....
Druridge Pools is in Higher Level Stewardship, a European agricultural subsidy that pays the landowners to manage the land for maximum environmental benefit....
The fields are looking good for wildfowl at the moment and the pair of pintail seen earlier this week were still hanging present, wigeon numbers are back up to normal since the thaw with an impressive 285 today with about 160 teal and 52 curlew.
Still very few passerines to be seen, a flock of 17 goldfinch was notable. Offshore, a great-northern diver was in the bay with three red-breasted mergansers and a handful of common scoter. An eider flying south was a year tick.
61 eider
62 pintail
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