Away with the birds

I have subscribed to some online training, courtesy of the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology).

Part 2 of the wildfowl session this morning, very interactive on Zoom. Having completed my homework yesterday, I was well prepared.

Advances in science and scientific understanding since my youth have been remarkable in all sorts of areas. One is the concept of what constitutes a species, which has become a rather slippery concept, and led to a lot of taxonomic debate. But it now seems the bean goose is accepted as two species, the grey lag sized tundra bean goose and the pink foot sized taiga bean goose.

I have little chance of seeing either here. But I do get a thrill from seeing and hearing flocks of pink foots flying over occasionally. Extra - one such last week.