Old Moor welcomed a local RSPB group from Nottinghamshire today who very much seemed to enjoy their visit. Thanks, as always, to all visitors who shared their sightings with us today. It all helps with the ‘picture’ of the day.
Here is the summary…
At Adwick Washland, the news is that wellies are no longer required now that the flood waters are receding. Chief among the sightings there was the recent stonechat pair.
Speaking of ‘pairs’, the two great white egret can still be found at Edderthorpe along with their smaller, more familiar cousins.
Meanwhile at Wombwell Ings, the grazing Canada geese were joined by five shelduck and a solitary goosander this morning.
No beardies reported at Old Moor today - though there was a stand-in!
At Old Moor, the main development today came when eagle-eyed watchers spotted an immature scaup trying to keep its head down among the pochard on Wath Ings’ Willow Pool.
Tucked in under the willows, the scaup maintained an air of mystery for much of the afternoon. Only occasionally did the bird rouse itself and show that it was neither a tufted duck nor a female pochard.
A curious goldeneye investigated watchers at Wath Ings this afternoon!
With only a few minutes of daylight remaining, the scaup glided out from its hiding place to take an interest in the groups of cormorant, goosander and pied wagtail coming in to roost.
Scaup are diving ducks that mostly arrive in the UK from late October. Some five thousand birds spend the winter here each year, though most are found on estuaries. Only a small number can be found inland and so the bird at Old Moor today was quite a surprise!
The scoop – sorry, scaup
The next question of course is, ‘Will it be there tomorrow?’ There are no guarantees of course, but the bird did seem to be settling down to roost at Wath Ings and there are plenty of other wildfowl there at the moment to keep it company.
We’ll let you know tomorrow, one way or the other via our Twitter feed - https://twitter.com/RSPB_OldMoor.
Until then.
That wren might be standing in but it looks in danger of falling in! Super photo.