I am told (via Google lens) that these ducks are Gadwall and my perusal of various guide books suggests that is correct. In one RSPB guide they are described as "a rather undistinguished duck" but in another RSPB guide they are described as "elegant, exquisitely marked birds at close range". It has a similar appearance to a Mallard but is smaller in size, they are seen in much fewer numbers than mallards so I am quite pleased to have witnessed this small flock flying around at Mere Sands Woods in Lancashire.
They were quite a way off so there is not much detail unfortunately but what I really like about these images is the shapes of the birds in flight as they swoop and turn looking for a good place to land or rather splash down.
You can see that many of the birds have open beaks and as they were flying they made quite a racket. I wonder what they were communicating to each other, and which bird was leading the conversation, I noticed that the bird at the back in each photo was not joining in and perhaps they were being told to keep up!
No comments:
Post a Comment