15 January 2022 - Hollingworth Lake

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3 Goldeneye, 4 Goosander, 10 Tufted Ducks

4°C, calm. A fairly bright morning once again, with quite a few people about. I walked round anticlockwise and could see quite a few gulls resting on the still water, but nothing unusual.  As I reached the scout hut, the drake Goldeneye was just offshore, but diving so often I almost missed it.  As I watched and photographed it, the two imm/f also flew in and landed nearby.   A Grey Heron was perched on the corner of the jetty here.

There was little to see in the trees except for a few Long-tailed Tits and the odd Redwing but as I rounded the corner to approach the hide, I could see a party of Tufted Ducks - 10 in all.  I tried to get close to the water's edge to get some photos but they drifted left and became too obscured behind branches. Nice to see such a decent size group though.  As I was watching the Tufteds, four Goosander (2 pairs) flew past and landed on the reserve, and could be seen from the hide but very much at the back of the pool.  A handful of  Teal were also present.

Goldeneye, 1/500 sec. f/5.6, ISO 320, 220 mm.

Grey Heron, 1/500 sec. f/5.6, ISO 1000, 220 mm.

8 of the 10 Tufted Ducks, 1/500 sec. f/5.6, ISO 250, 183.43 mm