Watering Hole

The small area of open water still remains at Eglwys today. I spent just over an hour and a half (from 14:30) there today taking photos, video and generally enjoying the scene. It was noticeable that the turnover of wildfowl was pretty high. 2 male Wigeon flew off early on, returning before I left. 22 Gadwall came in towards the end, some Mallard and Tufted Duck moving throughout. Also this fine male Goosander appeared after about 20mins


The Goldeneye cover so much distance while feeding when the reservoir is free of ice that they appear almost like a caged animals in these conditions. Today, a few of them seemed to be diving under the ice to feed. They can be quite flighty in normal conditions so seeing them at such close quarters was a bonus.


Adult and 1st winter drake Scaup in front of a female Goldeneye and Tufted Duck.
Tufted Duck x Pochard hybrid in front of a female Tufted Duck.
A party of 22 Gadwall came in towards the end. They don't seem to be feeding here at all so, presumably, they like roosting here with the other duck?