Cotesbach landfill; only a handful of Gulls, mostly Great Black-backed. 7 Teal and 2 Shoveler.
Stanford reservoir; afternoon. a story to tell today.
I was walking down the path from the on the Northants side when I heard the quiet sounds of Swan 'contact' calls, turning round 9 Swans flew low over the hedge and my head and along the reservoir towards the inlet end. Immediately I knew they were not Mute Swans and the sound and a hint of yellow on the bill made me think they were likely Whooper Swans, I texted the group this hoping someone else was present and may see where they went, I decided to head to the inlet end in case they had come down. Fortunately, Chris was at the inlet end and was able to find the Swans off the main reed bed, he sent a photo - seeing this I though that the yellow on the bill was small and did not extend below the nostrils and they looked quite small in stature. I eventually made it round to the point, but no Swans - Chris texted to say they had flown back from where I had come - dam.
So, I turned round and went to the hide to see if I could see them - they were now distant on the other side of Blowers Lodge Bay. From here I could see them with the scope and my suspicions were increased that these were actually Bewick's Swans, the juvenile and adult bills were quite distinct and the general small, neat stature of the birds confirmed. Informing Chris of my suspicions, the aim was to get better photos, he was luckily much closer than I. I headed back round to the other side, but they had flown off by the time I had got there, in fact they had made it to the inlet end - so they gave me the run around.
We were able to confirm they were, indeed, Bewick's Swans, the first here since 2007. 5 Adults and 4 juveniles.
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