In The Pink

You never know what you might stumble across on your walks around the British Countryside.  This morning, we were walking around 'Swan Lake' when a small goose took my eye.  Closer examination revealed it to be a Pink-footed Goose (Anser brachyrhynchus).

Having been born and raised in Norfolk, I was familiar with the Pink-foot, but more as part of a huge flock of thousands, rather than a single bird on a small lake.  Spending the winter in Britain from their breeding grounds in Iceland, Greenland and Spitsbergen, these small, pretty geese travel a long way to be here and in Great numbers.  Perhaps a quarter of a million Pink-footed Geese spend the winter in Britain, usually spending their time on the fields and marshes close to the coast, especially The Wash, Ribble and Solway.  It was a joy to see this individual on our local lake this morning.