It's amazing how a stroke of good fortune can motivate one. Following my successful mission to see a Black Hairstreak in the morning I was in no mood to head for home and put my feet up.
The lack of sun meant there was no point in going anywhere to look for butterflies so I decided that I would go and renew my acquaintance with the moulting drake Garganey at Farmoor Reservoir.
Arriving at the main car park early in the afternoon I looked in amazement at a sea of cars. Normally there are a reasonable number of cars and plenty of spaces on a weekend but today, Sunday, there was hardly room to park and it was obvious that Farmoor had become the location of choice for many people to enjoy a spot of relaxation and getting out of the house. I found a free space and headed for the causeway, passing a family having a picnic on the bank by the entrance path leading up to the yacht club and frequently having to socially distance myself from many other people walking around the perimeter track.
I had left the camera in the car, feeling a welcome release from its weight and encumbrance and now I only had a pair of bins around my neck. I commenced walking up the causeway. Two thirds of the way along I found a female duck with ten newly hatched ducklings. This is not exceptional at this time of year as just this week there have been at least three newly hatched broods of Mallard taking to the water. Presumably this was another new brood and I therefore only granted myself a few moments of indulgence to watch the tiny ducklings. which are always a joy to see. I glanced at the mother duck and something made me look closer. Superficially looking like a Mallard she was slightly slimmer in build, less coarsely marked and with a bright orange band along the cutting edge of her upper mandible. Her wing showed a small white speculum.This was no Mallard but a Gadwall and this was the first time I have ever seen a brood of Gadwall on Farmoor Reservoir. I called Dai as I knew he would be interested.
Speaking to him he told me he could not remember if he had ever seen a brood of Gadwall at Farmoor either and he has been checking the reservoir since its inception away back in 1965. He suggested I take a photo of them and of course I had no camera with me. Will I ever learn! Then he told me someone had reported two Sanderling on the causeway in the morning. This is getting to be quite late for them to be passing through but not unheard of.
I carried on and found the Garganey fast asleep, as usual, on the concrete shelving at the western end of Farmoor 2 with just one photographer in attendance. Defnitely a photographer as no bins!
I turned to walk back on the causeway, determining to get my camera and get a photo of the Gadwall and her large brood. I checked the left side of the causeway shelving on the way down and duly found the two Sanderling feeding along the water's edge, dodging the breaking waves being driven onto the concrete by the strong northwesterly wind. One of the Sanderlings was in full breeding plumage, sporting a lovely orange chestnut suffusion to its head, breast and upperparts. The other was very much greyer and paler with just a few bold black markings on its upperparts and the palest of a buff tinge to its face and breast, which only served to enhance the richly coloured plumage of the other bird.
The sight of these two motivated me to get a move on and passing through the thronged car park I retrieved my camera from my car and returned at double quick time up the causeway. Needless to say the rule of Farmoor was applied to the maximum, in that both Gadwall and Sanderling were at the far western end of the causeway, thus requiring the maximum length of walking. I told myself it was good for the soul but was anxious the Sanderling would not be flushed by so many people walking along the causeway, some even walking on the retaining wall which would be bound to spook the tiny waders.
Fortunately for me I encountered a window of opportunity where the causeway ahead of me was devoid of other folk, so if my luck held the Sanderling would stay put and I had a good chance of getting a photo of both the Sanderling and the Gadwall brood.
Two thirds of the way up the causeway I found the two Sanderling, still feeding at the water's edge and, unusually for Sanderling, walking rather than endlessly running. I passed them and sat on the retaining wall as they walked towards me.This was also unusual as nine times out of ten when you do this the birds run the other way, but not this time. Like many of the small waders that drop in here they were totally confiding, showing no alarm at my presence and wandered right up to and past me.
The greyer bird took advantage of the breaking waves to have a quick wash and brush up, immersing itself in the waves as they broke on the shore. It had no need to duck under the water as the waves broke over its body, almost knocking it off its feet in the process but effectively wetting its feathers. A quick preen and minor adjustments to various feathers and then it was back to refuelling for the long journey ahead.
The strongly coloured bird stopped and stretched its wings on either side. Wings that already have carried it a long way, possibly from southern Africa and would have to carry it thousands of miles further to its breeding area, be it in Greenland or Siberia. I could but wish them both well. They would leave tonight or first thing in the morning, for waders such as these never stop for longer than a day, unless the weather is really bad.
So now it was time to transfer my attentions to the Gadwall, which was easy as she was just the other side of the causeway shepherding her brood along by the concrete shelf, with the ducklings running up onto the concrete, chasing after prey that was invisible to my eyes. The mother was much more wary than a Mallard and if you stood for too long she took mild alarm at your presence and would call to her brood, who instantly gathered in a tight formation around her as she led them further out onto the reservoir. Walk on and she relaxed and the brood scattered over the water as they all made for the shoreline.
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| Gadwall with her brood of ten ducklings |
I wonder how many of the tiny, bumblebee like ducklings will survive the attentions of crows, gulls and pike, all of which will happily eat them.
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| Gadwall duckling |
PS Three of the ducklings survived to become fully grown and independent.
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