Smew

Hi DOM

Once more a lovely interesting bird and I have yet to see one in my area yet.

The only recent ones i have heard about are the ones at Paxton Pits and you have recorded on your list already.

We plan to go to Paxton Pits more so in the future as it is so close to where we stay so it will a bonus for us to see one.

Regards

Kathy and Dave

Darren Oakley-Martin said:

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Smew are a delightful migratory member of the sawbill family of wildfowl, so are more closely related to Goosander and Red-breasted Merganser than to Tufted Duck or Teal, for example. They are winter visitors to the UK in variable numbers and breed in the boreal forests of Northern Europe, often utilising an old Black Woodpecker nest hole.Numbers overwintering here have declined in recent years.

The male is unmistakable and is arguably the most attractive of all of our visiting or resident wildfowl. A colloquial name for a male Smew is 'white nun.' The females and 1st-winters are virtually identical, so are known collectively as 'redheads.'

Over the last few days, there has been a considerable influx of Smew into the UK, with birds seen from Lothian to Kent. A scarcely believable eleven are at Rutland Water. Other sites include RSPB Fen Drayton Lakes (Cambridgeshire), Draycote Water (Warwickshire), Linlithgow Loch (Lothian), Alton Water (Suffolk), Paxton Pits (Cambridgeshire), Abbotsbury (Dorset), Pearson's Flash (Greater Manchester), Abberton Reservoir (Essex), Thorpe Park (Surrey) and RSPB Dungeness (Kent).

So now is the time to head for your local lake, reservoir or gravel pit and find your own. They do tend to be rather shy, feeding close to reeds, but patience and persistence do pay off when you connect with this northern gem.

Graham Catley of Nyctea Ltd has kindly agreed to allow us to post his stunning images here. You can catch up with more of Graham's superb photography on his blog here. Here is the male:

And a redhead:

If you find one, let us know about it here.

ATB,

DOM

what a cracking pair, thery always look as though someone has painted then, brilliant. best regards mac

In reply to Anonymous:

Hi-

check my post about birding on frozen waters for Smew records last week :)

 

S

For advice about Birding, Identification,field guides,  binoculars, scopes, tripods,  etc - put 'Birding Tips'   into the search box

Hey

I seen 2 off these birds today on the river Eden on the outskirts of Edenbridge but it was 2 females that i saw

The only Smew I have seen both male and female is at Slimbridge many years ago. At this point of time, they where considered rare to see in the UK. Now they seen to have settled here happily in many places as mentioned here.

Love to see one locally now so here is wishing now.

Regards

Kathy and Dave

In reply to Peewit:

I see this is an very old thread from 2010 time, but still.open to opinions and sightings to date.

Regards

Kathy and Dave

Unless anyone knows any better, smew are uncommon Winter visitors to UK. Have been as long as I can remember. They are also declining in numbers in terms of visits to UK. The ones at Slimbridge will have been part of the collection there, and not wild ones.

No idea re River Eden. Sounds unusual for smew swimming in female pairs on a river. edit....looks more like female goosander habitat.

I saw a redhead smew at Rye Harbour in January 2020, if that’s any help. Don’t think we’ve had (m)any reports in Sussex since.