A text from Mark Islip caused me to visit Arrow Valley Lake for the first time in ages. The reason was the presence of a Common Scoter.
I walked all the way around the lake in pouring rain, pausing to look at five Oystercatchers. They must have bred here I imagine.
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| Oystercatchers |
Eventually I met Gavin coming the other way and we discussed the surprising absence of the Scoter, and moths (he has been trapping them for longer than I have).
Then on one of our scans I noticed the Common Scoter, a drake, asleep opposite the cafe. We both must have walked past it.
Eventually it woke up and I got a reasonable shot of it.
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| Common Scoter |
This is not a species which is ever going to occur at Morton Bagot, a true sea duck. They are a lot more regular on Midland reservoirs than I am nowadays, so its probably my first for many years.
I can recall a record from Arrow Valley Lake from about 1972, but not any since.
