Farmoor Therapy 10th November 2020

Well who would have thought it? Farmoor Reservoir is working out to be my salvation, as it is for many others during this period of lockdown and this afternoon I made another visit to keep body and soul together. Currently there are two 'star' birds at Farmoor, possibly a third if you count a hybrid duck but remember we are talking about Farmoor Reservoir where any bird slightly out of the ordinary is a welcome sight .

Today, at least, I had the pleasant prospect of looking forward to renewing my acquaintance with the juvenile Great Northern Diver which arrived on the 3rd of this month and is still here, although only just, as a fisherman managed to hook it in its body and the unfortunate diver had to be landed in a keep net and the hook removed.The bird, calling and visibly distressed, was released back onto the reservoir and hopefully will be none the worse for its experience. We will have to wait and see.

Apart from the diver, the other main attraction is a female Greater Scaup that has returned to the reservoir in the company of the usual flock of Tufted Ducks now that, courtesy of the lockdown, there are no longer paddle boarders, windsurfers and yachts people commandeering the reservoir's water for most of the day. It is such a shame that part of at least one of the basins cannot be left for just the waterbirds.

A trio of Little Grebes came very close to the shore in the tiny marina that lies in front of the yacht club. Powder puffs of fluffed up feathers, they look so timid and vulnerable on the expansive waters of the reservoir but find sanctuary by staying close to the moored boats and pontoons in the marina where they can hide away and feel secure. Yet, at other times they seem unphased about venturing right out onto the open areas of the reservoir where there is no cover at all.

I walked a short distance up the central causeway and soon found the female scaup idling its time away, sleeping on the water with a small group of Tufted Ducks. I sat on the wall and waited to see if it would wake up and as I did, glanced over my shoulder to the southwest, fearful of what the weather might be bringing. There had been been frequent showers this morning interspersed with sunny spells but for now it looked like the showers had ceased although the sky remained decidedly wild.

After a few minutes the sun appeared and the dull grey light on the reservoir was transformed. This was my opportunity to get some decent images of the scaup, its white blaze now positively gleaming in the sunshine. I sat and enjoyed it for a good half an hour, watching it preening, rolling on its side, almost on its back at times, just like the diver had done a few days ago.

Taking advantage of the sun I checked the rest of the Tufted Duck flock and found the hybrid male Greater Scaup x Lesser Scaup and reprised my efforts of Sunday at getting an image of it. This time there was a huge difference from the misty gloom of Sunday, as the bright sunshine showed to good effect its bottle green head and vermiculated grey upperparts. I know it's a hybrid but it really is an attractive duck.

I returned to my car but had second thoughts about heading for home and, leaving the camera in the car, returned to the causeway, armed with my telescope, to survey the gull roost. Lesser Black backed Gulls and Black headed Gulls were predominant with a few Common Gulls and Yellow legged Gulls of various ages to add variety but it was a Caspian Gull that I was looking for.

An hour later I found one, a lovely first winter bird cruising around in isolation from the main throng of gulls and utterly distinctive.It's been a while since I have seen one so this added a nice final touch to the day.