Anas querquedula Garganey
Location: Reedbeds on east side of Marton Mere, Blackpool.
Conditions: Warm sunshine, light breeze, early afternoon.
Photograph quality: 2.
Comments: A male was seen here a few days ago, but then nothing. These ducks are few in number (the RSPB states "23-115 pairs", the BTO says 86 pairs), and turn up randomly, by all accounts. They are the only summer migrant duck in the UK, and easily missed. So I was surprised to be told by a woman who joined me in the main bird hide that a pair had been seen earlier in the day. In fact, it was a couple of hours earlier, and the report stated they then disappeared. It turns out they must have moved from the open water in the southeast of the lake, to the more secluded reed beds at the east end, but they were clearly visible (if easily overlooked) from the embankment path.
They didn't stay in the open for long. I'm really pleased to have caught them, especially as all the other new species I might have seen today (grasshopper and garden warblers, whinchat, wheatear, and little grebe) were no-shows (although I heard a grasshopper warbler).
No comments:
Post a Comment