30 December 2021 - Hollingworth Lake

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Drake Wigeon, 4 Goosander, Common Gull (photo)

It's incredibly mild for the end of December, and this probably explains the recent dearth of interesting birds.  Very little to report until I came out of the hide and thought I heard a Wigeon 'whistle'.  I wasn't sure but scanning the reserve edge found a drake Wigeon tucked close in to the middle of the open water part of the reserve.  As I tried to photograph it through the trees, I could see it coming a bit closer so I hurried back to the hide and it came reasonably close for some photos before all the ducks were flushed by a dog and it flew back towards the road. A couple of times it looked to be coming closer again but each time I got to the hide it wasn't visible and eventually I lost sight of it.

Near the Beach, a few Black-headed gulls were loafing on the water close in, along with a 1st cycle? Common Gull

Wigeon, 1/500sec F5.6, ISO 1250, 220mm

Wigeon, 1/500sec F5.6, ISO 1000, 220mm

Common Gull, 1/500sec F5.6, ISO 1250, 220mm