Russian White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons albifrons [Scopoli, 1769]

Holt Farm, Blagdon Lake © Nigel Milbourne 2004

Russian White-fronted Goose A. a. albifrons (Scopoli, 1769)

Rare, passage migrant & winter visitor. November to March.

  1. Twenty-one, not aged, 8th Feb. 1964 (R. Angles). See note 1 below.
  2. One, not aged, 20th Dec. 1964 (M. Kendall). See note 1 below.
  3. One, 1st-winter, 11th Jan. 1992.
  4. One, 1st-winter, 22nd Dec. 1993.
  5. One, 1st-summer, 12th Nov. to 9th Dec. 1995. See note 2 below.
  6. Five, not aged, 2nd Jan. 1997.
  7. One, 1st-winter, 1st-9th Feb. 2003 (N.R. Milbourne).
  8. One, adult, 10th Jan. to 1st April 2004 (N.R. Milbourne, A.E. Bone et al.)
  9. One, 1st-winter, 18th Jan. 2009 (N.R. Milbourne).
  10. One, adult, 12th-20th Feb. 2010 (N.R. Milbourne).
  11. One, 1st-winter, 18th-20th Feb. 2011 (N.R. Milbourne).

Note 1: A.H. Davis dates these records as 1963 in Birds at Blagdon Lake 1963-1983.

Note 2: Of unknown origin, previously at Chew Valley since 23rd April.

 

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Greenland White-fronted Goose A. a. flavirostris (Dalgety & Scott, 1948)

Very rare, passage migrant & winter visitor. November to February.

  1. One, 1st-winter, 6th Nov. 1993 (A.H. Davis).

Greenland White-fronts generally winter in Ireland and north-west UK and are, therefore, less likely to occur in the south-west of England.

Greater White-fronted Goose (ssp. not specified)

  1. Six, not aged, winter 1907/08 (D. Carr).* See note 1 below.
  2. Twenty-one, not aged, 29th Dec. 1946 (R.E. Alley).
  3. Four, not aged, 31st Dec. 1946 (R.E. Alley & H.J. Boyd).
  4. One, not aged (D.A. & W.A. Holmes).
  5. Thirty-five max count, 25th Jan. to mid-Feb. 1970.
  6. Three, 2 adults & a juv., 29th Nov. 1977.
  7. Two, not aged, 16th-25th Jan. 1987.
  8. One, 1st-winter, 12th & 21st March, 3rd April 1988.
  9. Adult, 28th Jan. to 25th Feb. 1990 (R.U. Lambert, P.G.P., K.G.C. et al.)
  10. One, 1st-winter, 15th & 20th Jan. 1991 (K.E. Vinicombe et al.). See note 2 below.

Note 1: Donald Carr reported “six seen this Winter” in the 1907 Report of the Wells Natural History and Archaelogical Society (incorporating the first report of the Mendip Nature Research Club). This appears to be the earliest sighting at the lake.

Note 2: I found an entry in the Top End Diary dated 15th January of a 1st-winter bird seen by K.E. Vinicombe which was apparently not published in ABR 1991. It may have been the 1st-winter recorded at Chew Valley Lake on 19th January and subsequently back at Blagdon on 20th.

It is very likely that most, if not all, of the above records refer to Russian White-fronted Geese, but at this point I am unable to ascertain any of the above records to race.

Bibliography (sources of information):

  1. Blaythwayt, Rev F.L. (ed.). Report on Somerset Birds, 1946. Somersetshire Archaeol. & Nat. Hist. Soc.
  2. Chadwick, P.J. (ed.). Avon Bird Report, 1977. Bristol Naturalists’ Society.
  3. Davis, A.H. (ed.). Avon Bird Report, 1991. Avon Ornithological Group.
  4. Davis, A.H. (ed.). Avon Bird Report, 1992. Avon Ornithological Group.
  5. Davis, A.H. (ed.). Avon Bird Report, 1993. Avon Ornithological Group.
  6. Davis, A.H. (ed.). Avon Bird Report, 1995. Avon Ornithological Group.
  7. Davis, A.H. (ed.). Avon Bird Report, 1997. Avon Ornithological Group.
  8. Davis, A.H. Birds at Blagdon Lake 1963-1983. Bristol Ornith. 18: 102-116. Bristol Ornithological Club.
  9. Davis, H.H. (ed.). Bristol Bird Report, 1960. Bristol Naturalists’ Society.
  10. Davis, H.H. (ed.). Bristol Bird Report, 1964. Bristol Naturalists’ Society.
  11. Davis, H.H. (ed.). Ornithological Notes Bristol District, 1946. Bristol Naturalists’ Society.
  12. Davis, H.H. (ed.). Somerset Birds, 1964. Somersetshire Archaeol. & Nat. Hist. Soc.
  13. Davis, H.H. (ed.). Somerset Birds, 1970. Somersetshire Archaeol. & Nat. Hist. Soc.
  14. McGeoch, J.A. (ed.). Somerset Birds, 1977. Somerset Ornithological Society.
  15. Savory, J.H. (ed.). Somerset Birds, 1960. Somersetshire Archaeol. & Nat. Hist. Soc.
  16. Taylor, S.M. (ed.). Avon Bird Report, 1987. Avon Ornithological Group.
  17. Taylor, S.M. (ed.). Avon Bird Report, 1988. Avon Ornithological Group.

Last update: 7th December 2024