…ducks and geese. On Tuesday we were out on a tour in Druridge Bay, and were luckily sheltered from some torrential rain. Quite a lot of the day was spent discussing how to identify different species of duck, and relating head/bill profiles to what each species eats. Some nice waders were found as well; Wood and Purple Sandpipers were the highlights, but Bar-tailed and Black-tailed Godwits were together at Cresswell, allowing a comparison between these two sometimes tricky species. A couple of hours sitting on Church Point, Newbiggin, yesterday evening revealed an almost total absence of seabirds – but lots of wildfowl. Nearly 1400 Barnacle Geese, 450 Pink-footed Geese and 7 Velvet Scoters (gorgeous birds – if you’ve never seen one then click this link) all flew past as the sky darkened and looked increasingly ominous. Maybe these NW winds that are bringing so many Leach’s Petrels to the west coast will send a few our way…