Goosanders at Brickfields Pond, Rhyl

Staying for a day with Nain in North Wales, having returned her home after Christmas, on a rather cold day I was glad to find this new site to me, a well-visited pond on the edge of Rhyl housing and industrial parks. In theory I was looking for a reported Slavonian Grebe, but instead was delighted to find half a dozen or more Goosander, both male and female. Checking on the females has improved my knowledge of these birds no end.

Here is one of the better pictures of a female, showing the clearly demarcated white chin, the long-fringed crest, the sharp edge to the chestnut-red head colouring, the thicker bill at the base, and the less striped face.

The light was fairly poor, so most of the images were washouts, with relatively little detail.

Milton Creek

A really nice walk out at Sittingbourne today in warm (for December) breezy weather with weak sun. Targets were the long-staying Long-tailed Duck, Clangula hyemalis. The drake is at the back with its longer tail, and the next one is perhaps a youngster, behind two lighter coloured females. I must say that they are remarkably pretty birds:

There are supposedly 11,000 or so wintering in the UK every year, but the distribution is much more Northern in distribution, generally north from Northumberland with high numbers off the East of Scotland. Most birds probably come from the Iceland/Greenland breeding population, but there may also be some from the Russian/North West European population. There are some records in Kent, but not a huge number. According to the RSPB they eat mainly mussels, cockles, clams, crabs and small fish.

The species is of European Conservation Concern, and appears subject to risk from oil spill in the relatively small Finnish/Scandinavian population. The UK wintering population, at the southwestern limit of its range, is therefore subject to protection and at least three Scottish estuarine shores are SPAs in part consequence.

On the tundra breeding grounds the males are highly territorial, and are reported to return to their territories year after year. Nests, with a down covering on a shallow depression in the ground, may be placed among Arctic Tern nests, affording some protection against predators. Nesting takes place from late June, usually close to a pond. The 5 - 9 eggs are brooded for 4 weeks or so, the males leaving early in the process to moult on the coast.

There were plenty of other birds to be seen, particularly at the height of the tide. There were quite a few wigeon about, although they were not particularly vocal today.

There were quite a few Redshank around.

I got a couple of shots of a Black-Headed Gull flying conveniently past, in classic winter plumage. The wing pattern is just so wonderful, both under and over.

WWT Washington

Great day out with close-ups of the ducks, geese, moorhens, etc.

Cliffe Pools with Goldeneye in the distance

There were a nice pair of Goldeneye, Clangula bucephala, in the middle distance, so I got some shots in, and they turned out OK. I couldn't see any major advantage in the use of RAW and post-processing though, at least on the screen.

Garganey !

Blackcaps, Cetti's? Warblers and Reed Warblers,

Quite a good variety of duck to be seen: Wigeon, Shoveller, Teal, Mallard, Gadwall, and the two diving ducks, Pochard and Tufted Duck. Oddly enough I don't tend to see the Pochard diving all that much on a typical day.

A great drake Garganey seen at last!

Anas querquedula. This is the only member of the genus that is fully migratory, visiting the UK in very small numbers to breed each summer, with about 14 - 92 pairs known to breed per year. Numbers fluctuate noticeably at the edges of the range. Weather conditions may be the cause of sporadic movements up into new territory.

It seems to like well-compartmented, shallow and sheltered fresh waters - rather like BB2 in fact!

The drake is very striking with its white head stripe very clearly visible at first sight. It does seem to hide itself very well. I spent over a hour looking for it, so was a bit put out when another birdwatcher turned up and spotted it almost immediately coming out from behind a bank on the left.

Birds from the European/West African population winter almost exclusively between 10 and 20 N, pretty close to the Equator, while they breed mainly in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. They migrate through countries like France and Spain. Some research has been done by Guillemain et al on the Garganey's optimal refuelling strategy while staging in the Camargue. As little bodyweight was found to be added in the 329 birds examined, it was surmised that the prime importance of the staging area could be as a resting area, as opposed to a refuelling area. Alternatively it could simply be a refuge while the wait for conditions on the breeding grounds to improve. In either case the authors suggest that t is important to realise that management providing quietness and safety at stop-overs may be at least as important for this species as feeding opportunities. In my view these factors may be more inter-related than the authors suggest.

The

This male may already have been paired up as pair-bonds are very strong in this species, rape attempts are very rare and most (i.e. 97%) females are already paired at the end of winter (Cramp and Simmons 1977, and references therein). However I did not see the female! 

Black-necked Grebe eludes me

The Track,

Dozens of Peacock butterflies and Bumblebee Queens, backed by the singing of Blackcaps, Dunnocks, Robins, Great Tits and Blue Tits.

Radar,

On Radar there looked to be the hundreds of Black-headed Gulls, Avocets and Black-tailed Godwits that I had looked at on Saturday, but I didn't have time to stop at the viewpoint today, as I was on the "hunt" for a summer-plumaged Black-necked Grebe.

On BB1, 

there was perhaps a greater variety of birds to be seen on BB1. There were several pairs of Teal, 3-4 Pochards, scores of Shovellers, mainly male, a pair of Gadwall, maybe 7 - 10 pairs of Tufted Duck, and about the same number of Coot, with 1 - 2 Moorhen.

There were also several Avocets, 2 pairs of Little Grebe, but no Black-necked Grebe in breeding plumage.

Pity I didn't take any photos as the light to the left was brilliant.

Cetti;s warblers and chaffinches were singing by the track behind me.

Happy Holborough

2 Mallard, 4 Gadwall, 3 separate(?) Herons, Bluetits, 4 separate(?) Blackbirds, 2 separate(?)  Greenfinches singing, 2 separate(?) Cormorants, 100 Blackheaded Gulls, 50 Herring Gulls, 1 Lesser Black-Backed Gull, 1 Redshank, 6 Magpies, Carrion Crows, 1 Coot, 8 Woodpigeons, 1 Stock Dove.

This was the first Greenfinch singing by the Churchfield houses. It looks fluffy as though it might be moulting on the wings, but the timing is way out. Although the greenfinch moult is fairly extended, the very last traces of any moult should have finished in December.

There was a pair of mallard on the river:

I only saw one Coot in the ditch system, but there were certainly more.

Lovely day at Horrid Hill

7 Redshank, 6 Turnstone, 1 Dunlin, Curlew heard, 6 Oystercatcher, 70 Wigeon, 20 Pintail, 100+ Teal, 150 Black-headed Gull, 2 Magpie.

Motney Hill

Teal out with the Shelduck at first, then half a dozen Wigeon.

Black-headed Gulls yielded no Med Gulls despite searching. Many of them with apparently dark bills and darkening heads.

A couple of Redshanks. A Pipit.

Moorhen and a pair of Mallard.

Woodpigeon. Wrens. 

Aythya fuligula - Tufted Duck

Males

On the Fishing Lake by the cafe block at Haysden Country Park on the 27th of January 2014, there were a couple of nice Tufted Ducks, Aythya fuligula, 2 males. This bird below, one of the two, does not have an obvious crest, but I think must still be older than a first winter juvenile, as there is no barring on the flanks. The water droplets still clinging to the feathers may indicate that the bird has recently surfaced and the crest may then be slicked down in consequence.

Other interesting ID features of Tufted Ducks are the interestingly shaped head with the high forehead on a relatively narrow neck. The bill has a good solid black tip or nail (across the cross-section of the bill, looking as though it "has been dipped in ink"). There is more than a hint of a whitish stripe across the front of the bill of this bird, contrasting with the light blue-grey on the rear part of the bill.  This feature is very variable apparently. 

The bird is said to sit low in the water but with its tail above the surface, and I think I would agree with this from this picture to some extent - it looks as though its sitting a bit lower in the water at the moment, perhaps after a dive. It may be that the tail is being splayed out and held just pressing down on the surface of the water. Deep yellow eye, perhaps slightly out of focus.  The contrast between the dark wing and the white sides is nice and distinct, a beautiful bird indeed, moving well across the water!.

On the main Gravel Pit, Barden Lake, other individuals were keeping themselves out of trouble. This one looks very much at rest, but with its eyes open! I think that the wings are most easily seen from this angle, with the two sets of primary feathers forming a valley down the back between the two wings. It also looks to me as though the flank feathers somewhat overlie the sides of the wings, giving that fringed effect to the rear of the white sides. The tail sits slightly cocked in this picture, with the bird sitting still on the siurface of the water.

A drake tufted duck looks very seriously at me, as I stand on the bank at Barden photographing him, on the 19th of January 2013!

This is the same male, on the same day, virtually the same attitude, at 2 different crops.

It's amazing how the droplets of water remain attached to the feathers!

Females

The females show the same amount of darkening at the tip of the biill, with sometimes a little light band just behind. The main part of the bill is a lot darker in the female than in the male. Some of the females show a scaup-like white patch at the base of the bill, although not quite so extensive, and I rather think quite a lot of them show some degree of lighter brown in that area, like the one in the duck below. This duck, 27th January 2014, is in winter breeding plumage, and the bird will probably now undergo a partial moult just before nesting.



This female, at Barden on 31st January 2014, by contrast appears to have only minimal lightening of the feathers at the base of the bill.

While this one has a little bit more. This one also has the white triangle under the tail, as though its gone early (1st February, 2014) into the summer plumage. There may be more to be thought about here.

Here is a quizzical look from this Barden female (1st February 2014):

This picture, taken at         on the 2nd of March 2013, shows the female (behind) in nesting plumage with the light triangle at the rear of the flank. This is very early in the year, very odd indeed. The male may be dipping its head slightly downwards in display. Quite a golden light that afternoon! See how much lighter the male bill is.

First Year

There is some support for the idea that first year males once they finish their late summer moult can still be distinguished from the adult males by some remaining barring on the flanks. The extent of this is unclear, but very obvious according to pictures from the Chichester Harbour Ornithological Group. Here is a male at Barden on the 31st of January 2014 that is showing just one blackish mark in the middle of the flank. Definitely a male from the length of the crest in my view, although it may not be excessively long and perhaps just a glitch, as it may just be one feather. The colour of the darkening is right but the extent appears pretty limited.

So the question is, where are all the first year birds?

and the answer is, they may be there if you look! This was a  bird on its own by Coot Point on the very same day, that I had earlier ignored (!), and when you look at it, it is either dirty or somewhat dark on its flanks - a likely first year bird then, and perhaps the slightly shorter crest as well as the slightly lone behaviour might back that idea up!

Feeding

According to the BTO, "the rapid expansion of the Tufted Duck in Britain during the late 19th/early 20th century is probably due to the colonisation of Britain by Zebra Mussels (brought into London docks in the 1820s)".  The birds are omnivorous, feeding mainly on mussels, insects and plant material taken from the muddy bottoms of the water bodies they are on, diving anywhere between 4 - 15 metres down. It breeds better if there aren't excessive numbers of fish. 

This male at Barden on the      seems to have this lump stuck to the inner surfaces of its bill. Most of the material collected from the bottom of the lake is eaten beneath the surface.

Behaviour

In this picture, taken at Barden on the 19th January 2013, the tail of this male is clearly seen to be splayed out, and apparently pressed down against the water surface. I would imagine that this would tend to stabilise pitch while the duck is paddling forward, keeping the head down and steady, rather than pitching up and down. Incidentally here you can see that the tail is actually a dull black in comparison to the true black of the rest of the plumage.

In contrast, looking at this heavily cropped picture taken on the 2nd of March 2013 at Barden, the tail is held horizontally above the surface of the water, and not particularly splayed. Coincidentally or not, this bird is completely still, not swimming forward at all. 

Diving

This male, on the 31st January 2014, is rolling to its right as it dives. The tail has been pushed downwards nearly vertically to act as a brake and aileron, as the feet get to work propelling the duck into the dive. You cam see the disturbance in the water rear and left of the duck of the first stroke.

  


Breeding

These two birds look as though they have paired up, with the female in complete winter breeding plumage - I cannot see the paler patch at the rear of the flank of the summer nesting plumage.  The birds were cruising down the ditch towards the cafe car park at Leybourne Lakes on the 18th March 2013. There is an amazing size difference between this male and female. I do wonder why the make is holding his head so high, maybe this is a display related to neck thickening. The eye is quite obvious, and perhaps the male has closed its pupil to increase the iris size.

The plumage on the female is the general winter breeding plumage. There will be a post-breeding moult before nesting of the body and tertials March-May. Nesting and incubation would then often be in late May, with incubation through to late June, and taking care of the young through the next about 50 days. Then there is a moult of the wings (and tail)  about July-August when she will be flightless.  

Rough weather

This female is braving the waves at Barden on the 31st January, 2014, and the water is demonstrating its strong surface tension as it slops around her chest.

Its interesting to see how far back this same female is holding her head on her body.

Pressures

There is increasing pressure to develop many existing water spaces in Britain for recreational activities. This trend will increase disturbance to water bird populations. This paper considers these problems and suggests the sorts of information which are needed for formulating multi-purpose amenity plans for water spaces, where a conservation interest exists. The study at the Brent Reservoir in north-west London has shown that a few species of wildfowl, e.g. Anas platyrhynchos, Aythya fuligula, Aythya ferina, still use the reservoir in autumn and winter despite an intensification of sailing activities. This use and the successful breeding of Podiceps cristatus and other species of water birds depends on the existence of a large enough part of the reservoir which is shallow and marshy and not accessible to boats. As there is some suggestion that larger flocks are more sensitive to disturbance than smaller ones, refuges may be made more effective by proper screening. 

Sailing on reservoirs and its effects on water birds Original Research Article Biological Conservation, Volume 11, Issue 1, January 1977, Pages 49-58 L.A. Batten

Population

The Tufted Duck colonised the UK as a breeding bird in 1849, assisted by the arrival of the Zebra Mussel and increasing eutrophication of our natural waters a couple of decades before. Its breeding and winter populations are still increasing and it is interesting to speculate on its continued success. In Northern Europe its population in Northern Europe has tailed off a bit, and the NI wintering population has correspondingly decreased as well.

Barden Lake at Haysden slowly drying out again as the floods recede slightly.

The water level in Barden Lake has slowly and gently dropped, and you can now walk all the way around, muddy though it is.  On the Fishing Lake by the cafe block, there were some a couple of nice Tufted Ducks, Aythya fuligula, 2 males. This bird does not have an obvious crest, but I think must still be older than a first winter juvenile, as there is no barring on the flanks. The water droplets still clinging to the feathers may indicate that the bird has recently surfaced and the crest may then be slicked down in consequence.

Other interesting ID features are the interestingly shaped head with the high forehead on a relatively narrow neck. The bill has a good solid black tip or nail (across the cross-section of the bill, looking as though it "has been dipped in ink"). There is more than a hint of a whitish stripe across the front of the bill, contrasting with the blue-grey on the rear part of the bill.  The bird is said to sit low in the water but with its tail above the surface, and I think I would agree with this from this picture to some extent - it looks as though its sitting a bit lower in the water at the moment, per haps after a dive. Deep yellow eye, perhaps slightly out of focus.  The contrast between the dark wing and the white sides is nice and distinct, a beautiful bird indeed, moving well across the water!.

On the main Gravel Pit, Barden Lake, other individuals were keeping themselves out of trouble. This one looks very much at rest, but with its eyes open! I think that the wings are most easily seen from this angle, with the two sets of primary feathers forming a valley down the back between the two wings. It also looks to me as though the flank feathers somewhat overlie the sides of the wings, giving that fringed effect to the rear of the white sides. The tail sits slightly cocked in this picture.

According to the BTO, "the rapid expansion of the Tufted Duck in Britain during the late 19th/early 20th century is probably due to the colonisation of Britain by Zebra Mussels (brought into London docks in the 1820s)".  The birds are omnivorous, feeding mainly on mussels, insects and plant material taken from the muddy bottoms of the water bodies they are on, diving anywhere between 4 - 15 metres down. It breeds better if there aren't excessive numbers of fish. 

The females show the same amount of darkening at the top of the biill, with a little light band just behind. Some of them show a scaup-like white patch at the base of the bill, although not quite so extensive, and I rather think quite a lot of them show some degree of lighter brown in that area, like the one in the duck below.

Wet but bright at Haysden

The paths were still under water, but the sun was shining, and it was actually quite warm. The Gulls and geese were showing well, but it was very busy and there were few ducks to be seen.

This gull is stabilising itself with its wings, in order to duck its head below the surf\ace in a very rapid movement. A skirt of water flies up past its head!

This one is demonstrating its STOL capabilities

and this one looks as though its just blown a huge bubble!

Further around the lake, there were some Tufted Duck, Aythya fuligola, quite a way out on the water from the bird feeding stage. The males were showing off their crests dramatically, as in the picture taken below. This bird looks as though it is riding high in the water, with the tail clearly visible. It doesn't look as though it has dived for quite a while!

Leybourne again

Trying out the monopod today I did think it made a difference, until I forgot to point the autofocus spot directly onto the birds concerned. However, here is a fairly sharp Greylag, Anser anser, from quite close-up,

There were also about 60 Canada Geese, Branta canadensis, Mute Swans, Cygnus olor, many Black-headed Gulls, Chroicocephalus ridibundus, some Herring Gulls, Larus argentatus, and at least one Common Gull, Larus canus. Also Mallard, Anas platyrynchos, Tufted Duck, Aythya fuligola, one Drake Shoveller, Anas clypeata, several Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristata, Cormorants, Phalocrocorax carbo, Moorhens, Gallinula chloropus, and Coots, Fulica atra.

This is a one year old Black-headed Gull, as indicated by the brown on the wings, and the slightly orange bill

Whereas this is an adult bird with a much darker red bill and perhaps a tendency to achieve breeding plumage a bit earlier.

This is an adult Herring Gull, only just in focus,

Herring Gull calling, much more heavily cropped:

Moorhen:

Tufted Duck: