Tufty

 Here are a couple of species of duck. There are lots of different species of duck around the world. Here in the UK most people will be familiar with the Mallard which are quite common and I sometimes feel they are easily overlooked, and because ducks are everywhere all species can be lumped in together "as just another duck". To do so is to a massive disservice to the many beautiful variations which have interesting habits.

The images below show male and female Red Crested Pochard. The male is the more colourful specimen and in the portrait image he reminds me of a comedienne and TV presenter, I cant explain why and I wont say who (so that comment is probably pointless but it will serve as a reminder to me when I look back at this post in future). Anyway this is a diving duck which feeds on vegetation and is a resident of southern Europe and central Asia.

The other species is a Patagonian Crested Duck, a dabbling feeder from Patagonia so Chile and Peru and Argentina, as well as the Falkland Islands. They are the most common duck species in that area but they do not flock together, rather they stay in pairs and are quite territorial. Their main foods are macroinvertebrates like zooplankton and clams but also kelp. the bird in this image is a male and he has a very handsome crest. I also really like his mottled plumage.

Did You Get My Best Side

 My first post for 2026, and the first in some time is from my first foray with my camera in quite a while too.

Even though I am retired life is still very busy and finding the time for hobbies can be difficult, and at this time of year when the weather is colder, my bones are creakier, and the light is less predictable getting out for a spot of photography is a challenge.

All of today's shots are from Martin Mere Wetland Centre from 14th January. It was a really cold day and the light conditions were changeable most of these images were shot with a high ISO (as much as 12800) so I have had to a little work to reduce the noise. I think they have mostly turned out alright. 

    Male Pochard

    Male Pintail

    Black Tailed Godwit

    That Pintail again...

    Male Reed Bunting, coming in to land

    Reed Bunting, about to take off...

    

     Male Greenfinch

    Male leucistic Reed Bunting with a chaffinch looking on

    Launch time for a male chaffinch 

    One of my favourite birds, a Long-tailed Tit. Did you know that these are truly social birds, over 50% of their nests have non-parent birds assisting with raising the chicks. Wonderful little things.

Beautiful Plumage!

 I am not referring to the plumage of the Norwegian Blue Parrot made famous by those terribly funny Monty Python chaps, I am of course referring to the plumage of the Hooded mergansers as seen in the pictures below.

I had a short break from sharing pictures due to a brief camping trip in Glencoe (Scottish Highlands) and while I have loads of images to sort through and eventually share with you I am continuing today with some of my wildlife shots from WWT Martin Mere.

I think we can agree that the Hooded Merganser is a very handsome bird. It is a diving duck and like the Goldeneye in my last post has a wide flattened tail which is uses to push itself under water in search of food. It has a long thin beak which is no doubt designed for catching small fish and crustaceans that it likes to eat. The male and female have very different and distinct markings, the male with its black and white breast, head and back with more orange coloured flanks. He looks very impressive with his tufted head fully extended. He also has bold yellow eyes.

The female on the other hand is less striking brown although she has a beautiful chestnut red crest and reddish eyes. 

When they weren't diving for food they spent much of the time circling each other, they make quite a pair. They are cavity nesters often using holes in trees close to fresh water or even in nest boxes.

These pictures confirm what I said in my last post, ducks are not less interesting or less attractive than geese.

Bright Eyes

Well just in case you are wondering, the title of this post does not relate to the famous song written by Mike Batt (of Wombles fame) and performed by Art Garfunkel, and which was used as the theme for the film adaptation of Watership Down. It is about the star of the post, the beautiful Goldeneye. Actually the song Bright Eyes might be better connected to the duck as the lyrics talk about floating on the tide and "bright eyes, burning like fire" which doesn't really apply to rabbits, anyway I digress.

In January a pair of Goldeneye had been spotted on the marine Lake at West Kirby and although I could see them I could not photograph them as they stayed too far out on the lake for me to get a decent shot. At Martin Mere however there are a couple of pairs on one of the ponds and over two visits I managed to get a few shots.

On my most recent visit I was having a chat with one of my sons who expressed his opinion that geese tended to be more interesting and better looking than ducks. I disagreed with this and pointed out a smew which was immediately on hand and also referred him to the Goldeneye which by any assessment is a stunning looking bird.

The male with his bold black and white plumage and vivid yellow eyes is amazing, and even the female which is more understated is still quite beautiful.

They are a diving duck and will disappear beneath the surface in their hunt for food. They have wide tails which you can see in the fourth picture is used to propel them under the water as they dive.

In the final three images I was unsure whether the male was simply taking a drink of water or whether he was displaying to the female (it is spring after all), given that he repeated this action several times I suspect he was showing off.

Looking at those shots I also noticed the ripples in the background which could have easily featured in one of my recent posts, but the focus at the moment is definitely on the wildlife. I have lots more shots of birds from Martin Mere that I will be sharing soon so keep your eyes peeled for my next post.

 

It's A Teal

Today I have a couple more pictures from my New Years photo shoot at Mere Sands. This is a teal which is the smallest common duck and generally can be found in marshy ponds.

This one was part of a small flock that were feeding in the shallow waters around a reed bed. Although it looks quite relaxed it was very alert and they are able to take off almost vertically if alarmed. Luckily there was nothing to spook this chap and the still water provides nice reflections and gentle ripples.Te

And A Robin For Luck

I have been so frustrated recently because it is about five weeks since I was able to get out at a weekend to take some photos and when I saw the weather forecast for today I thought it would be another washout.  However I decided that I would head off to Mere Sands Wood and if the weather turned nasty at least I could take shelter in the hides.

I had hoped to get some pictures of some of our winter visitors however I was told by the warden that due to the unseasonably warm weather the usual migrant species from Scandinavia and the Arctic haven't turned up yet (if they do at all) and so there wasn't very much in the way of bird life and waterfowl to see.

Undeterred I walked around the quiet woodland and had a really lovely day. The light was really poor so getting good shots was a challenge, as you can see from the first two images I had to use a high ISO (10,000) and the resulting images are a bit grainy.  I was however pleased to get the shot of the Grey Heron just as it landed and you can see its wings extended to slow it down and the feathers along the leading edge of its wings extended further to act as air brakes.

The third picture is of a male Goosander, there is not a lot of detail in this picture but I like the reflection and the sense of motion created by the ripples in its wake.

The final picture is my first photo of a Robin this winter, I know that everyone loves Robins so thought I would add it to my blog for today.

I had a great day out, it was peaceful and quiet and although I did have to take shelter against a really heavy downpour I was happy.

Wildfowl

The pictures for today and tomorrow (and maybe Monday too but I haven't made up my mind on that yet) were taken during a visit to Martin Mere a Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserve  in Lancashire.  I have heard it called a "bird zoo" which I suppose in some ways it is but it is also home to numerous migrating birds.  

It's a good venue for getting up close to some stunning wildlife and so I have picked a few shots to share with you which I hope you will enjoy.