This small North American duck has been frequenting Freiston Shore RSPB in South Lincolnshire since Tuesday, disappearing for a couple of days and then reappearing in a drainage ditch on Friday. A discussion ensued with my friend Chris Orders and we initially pencilled in Sunday as a day to pay a visit, the forecast putting us off a bit. Sunday morning dawned and with it at least 6-7 inches of snow, a quick text confirmed a cancellation of our trip. An hour and a half later the bird was reported on Birdguides and so another discussion ensued, was the weather that bad, the roads could be clear, if it was that bad we could always turn round. We decided to go for it. Mad!
The journey was pretty non-eventful, the roads and the snow vanishing before our eyes, we only saw 3 cars in various ditches along the way! We arrived on site with a gale blowing straight from the continent, it was a bit chilly, to say the least, but we made our way to the hide where the bird had been spotted from. On scanning a flock of Tufted Ducks at the furthest point possible from the hide I picked out the bird with its' head tucked firmly under its' wing, we had 'bagged' it! We walked a bit closer to the bird in order to see if we could get any photos, the weather being rather bracing, which didn't help with that particular process, but we managed to get a few shots.
As can be seen, not the greatest pieces of photography that you will ever see, but you can see the bird! Chris managed to get far better digiscoped shots, one of which is below.
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| copyright Chris Orders |
A good bird, despite the 'challenging' weather conditions! Thanks to Chris for driving and Anne for the coffee!
Congrats on the Lesser Scaup! Great post and photos.
ReplyDeleteThanks Eileen,
DeleteNot as good photos as I would have liked, but at the least the bird can be seen and some of the distinguishing features can be picked out!
J
It's always nice when you make the effort and see the bird at the end of it! (-: A smart looking bird.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jenny!
DeleteWell worth the effort and the bird was actually swimming around and doing stuff, unlike what it normally does, just sits with his head under his wing!
J
Hi John...Neither rain,sleet,or snow will kept John from getting photos of that duck!! lol!!
ReplyDeleteWell you did it, got some nice shots in spite of the lousy weather!!
I have seen them Lesser and Greater together!!
Sure glad you wasn't one of the three in the ditch!!
Grace
Lucky you Grace! Both birds are scarce here in the U.K., with the Greater being the more 'common' of the two.
DeleteNo, by the time we were driving the roads were pretty clear, plus Chris is a good driver!
J
We get it around us in Somerset. Brilliant photos John.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bob! You are lucky to have them regularly in you area, I have had to wait an age and then it wasn't really on 'my' patch!
DeleteJ
Now that's what I call supererogation John.
ReplyDeleteFirst shot looks very good to me.
Thanks John, but I don't know about going above and beyond the call of duty, I don't think I have a duty, do I? :)
DeleteJ
You do a lot to see the birds, John! I'm impressed. In Munich I was happy to see a book on the table at Son&DiL: Birds in Germany - and as Munich has a lot of green, they can practice.
ReplyDeleteHi Britta,
DeleteI don't do as much as some, indeed I am almost tame in comparison to those people who charter flights and drive for hours on end. I am a bit of a lightweight when compared to them! ;)
Good to see that your son is getting his eye in!
J