Rare bird flies into Lancashire from the High Arctic
An exceptionally rare bird has arrived on the Ribble Estuary, in the Southport area.
An adult Ross’s goose, a species that breeds in the High Arctic and winters in the southern United States and Mexico, is attracting birders to Marshside RSPB Reserve, and the adjacent Ribble Estuary marshes.
Ross's goose is a white goose with black wingtips and a relatively short neck. It is the smallest of the three white geese that breed in North America. It is similar in appearance to a white-phase snow goose, but about 40 per cent smaller.
Lancashire birder Ron Jackson filmed the Ross's Goose on Crossens Moss on Monday, October 6, in with a flock of Pink-footed Geese and a Barnacle Goose.
Ross's Geese, and the similar looking Snow Geese, occasionally get lost on migration in North America, and then find company in amongst the huge flocks of Pink-footed Geese that fly into Lancashire from their Icelandic breeding grounds in the Autumn.
The first for Britain was an annually returning bird amongst huge flocks of Pink-footed Geese in the Plex Moss, Formby and Altcar area of south-west Lancashire in the early 1970's.
There have only been about 30 wild Ross's Geese recorded in Britain. Lancashire has a very special affinity with the species as the first wild Ross's Goose ever recorded in Britain spent four consecutive winters in the Plex Moss, Formby and Altcar area.
It was first recorded on December 5, 1970, and last recorded on January 12, 1974.
More recently, a juvenile flew into Marshside Marsh RSPB Reserve in early November 2013. It regularly commuted to Martin Mere Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and also returned for three consecutive winters.
There have been a total of six Ross's Geese in Lancashire - including sightings on The Fylde and on the Lune Marshes - with five of these in the 21st century, coinciding with a big increase in the population in the Arctic.
Where the geese go
October is an amazing time for birding in Lancashire with tens of thousands of Pink-footed Geese flying in from Iceland.
It is always worth looking through these flocks for rarities - in recent years Snow Goose, Lesser White-fronted Goose, Red-breasted Goose, Cackling Goose and Bean Goose have all been seen in the Southport area.
Lancashire is expecting an influx of birders this weekend for the North-West Birdwatching Festival at Martin Mere Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust nature reserve."