Just the best place

The Solway has to be just the best place in the UK for photographing Goosanders. Photo taken on the latest trip to Southern Scotland. Next years tour dates are pending.

Goosey Goosey Gander

Easily within a stride out of our home was this splendid drake Goosander.

I used to live in Priory Cottage, not but a stones-throw from where the bird had chosen to settle over the last week or so. So the pond was a regular place for me to visit when I first moved up to the coast. It had held Kingfisher, Otter and even a Goosander or two in the past. The pond itself was the fish pond for the now ruined priory and supplied the carp for the monks. Something that perhaps wasn’t lost on its newest resident.

Having a gander

A trip into Suffolk to see a pair of obliging Goosanders turned into a trip to Suffolk to see a pair of un-obliging Goosanders. Still, when they did show they were, as they always are, majestic birds; although I reckon one of them was telling a yarn about the size of fish she’d caught.

 

Dutch invaders

The easterly winds coupled with sub-zero temperatures over Europe, has prompted a cold weather movement from the continent. The Norfolk coast is rife with Song Thrushes, Woodcock and Smew; no doubt all from Holland. Another invader from the Netherlands are Goosanders.

We stumbled upon a notable flock of 24 yesterday on a small boating lake. They were engaged in a feeding frenzy. At first I thought they were feeding on some sort of crustacean amid weed in the lake but photographs show they were pulling out small fish. I can’t ever remember seeing a larger winter flock.