Bean Geese - January 2026

I returned to Otmoor on the morning of 7th January hoping to get some better views of the flock of Bean Geese that now seemed pretty settled on Ashgrave after initially being quite mobile in the days following their arrival. I managed to see them distantly from the Wetlands Watch hide on Boxing Day, and although satisfying the need for a county tick it would have been a shame to waste the opportunity to try and see them a little better before they departed. It was clear from other reports that views were often better from the opposite side of Ashgrave and so I decided to give that a go and I was in luck. The group of 20 birds were the closest geese to that side of the field and gave fabulous views for about 30 minutes, happily feeding among a few White-Fronted Geese and Greylags. Almost the entire collection of geese on Ashgrave then went up and flew around for a few minutes before settling again, now far more distant.