After hearing yesterday that there was a Bean Goose with the 250+ Canada Goose flock in Clifford (very close to the Radnorshire border), I decided to get up very early before work to see if I could find this bird on the welsh side of the river. My first point of call was the ox-bow lake just downstream from Glasbury (a place where I had seen large flocks of Canadas before). Although it was still darkish when I got there, there was just about enough light to get a shape of what birds were about. Birds on the lake included Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Goosander, Mute Swan, Snipe, Curlew, Lapwing, Pheasant, Reed Bunting and Bullfinch, but no Geese!!! I then remembered that I had also seen large flocks of Canadas about 5 miles downstream near cabalva farm, so off I went. As I arrived I could see the Canada flock, but finding the Bean Goose among them was another matter. No matter where I looked I couldn't see it! But then out of no where it appeared. It was a bit far away, and I don't mind admitting that I couldn't really tell if it was a Pink-foot or a Bean Goose, but according to the Herefordshire birders who had seen a lot closer than I have, it was indeed a 1st winter Bean Goose, a first for Wales for me, wahoo!
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