There were a few Bean Geese with the White-fronts. Some were a bit small like this one, think it might be a Tundra Bean Goose?
Quite a lot of Cackling Goose…
And a handful of Snow Geese…
Late Winter Trip 2023 #13
Tag: Bean Goose
Tokachi Autumn 2022 #5
I took way too many BIFs…
I still have never really got the hang of flock shots.
Tokachi Autumn 2022 #2
Taiga Bean Goose were everywhere…
And there were decent numbers of Cackling Goose too.
Late Winter Trip 2022 Day 5 #9
I only saw 1 Bean Goose (Taiga I think) amongst the main flocks in Mukawa. There was a flock of them a few miles east but they were impossible to get close enough to photograph.
There were also quite a few swans. Not photogenic in the harsh spring sunshine. Mainly Whoopers but I found at least 1 Bewick’s.
The nearest I could get to a comparison shot:
A short trip out east
I was surprised to see this lone Bean Goose in the same place I’d seen 3 Greater White-fronts last month…
A pretty quiet day, the local Steller’s flew around a bit but up high and it was not especially photogenic today.
Only female Harlequins in camera range again…
A late autumn trip #10
(Taiga?) Bean Geese were also common in Urahoro….
A late autumn trip #9
On the second say we couldn’t get near the Snow Geese…
They are very easy to pick out among the Grey Geese, as you can see here:
Greater White-fronted Geese are generally the most numerous species near Hakodate but this is not the case in Urahoro. Here are some adults and juveniles together.
Very quiet out east
We went to east Hokkaido last week but the birding was very very quiet. In Urahoro the first geese had arrived: small groups of (Taiga?) Bean and Cackling Geese mainly…………..with a few Pacific Golden Plover, a lone Ruff and several Japanese Crane keeping them company.
We were a tad early I guess. Lake Furen/Nemuro/Kiritappu were as pleasant as always but there really weren’t many birds around. Summer stuff gone, winter stuff barely arrived yet. Most interesting thing was a family of Sea Otters but they were too far away in the gloom for any decent photos.
More Beans
(Taiga) Bean Geese were very numerous but seemed to be in random small groups rather than big flocks.
Its plumage matched the autumnal hues well.
Sunshine and geese
As I said the second day with the geese saw much better weather.
The next day………..
The weather was much better the second day in Urahoro. At first the geese were in a different area from the day before. Except for a few Whooper Swan and Bean Geese. The long neck/bill and head shape seem to indicate Taiga Bean Goose.
But presently other species arrived including Cackling Geese. We had seen these flocks newly arrive around 4 weeks previously.
Geese in the rain #2
Snow Goose were the main target but there 3 other species including (Taiga) Bean Goose.
White birds are nice when it’s dark though……………
