Elton Reservoir, Bury - 6.1.21
I've been keeping an eye on the weather over the last couple of days especially for good light as I'm keen to see how the plumage of the long staying first winter male Scaup is transforming into that of the adult. Planning a visit always entails staying clear of the weekend as the constant stream of people invariably sends the duck rapidly off into the middle of the reservoir, so after over a week of the cloud today looks the day for a visit which is only a short distance from home.
Now in my usual location and a lot of slithering around I'm all set now all done to some waiting. Whilst the Scaup can be quite tolerant the Tufted Duck it like to associate with aren't, so to pass the time whilst I'm waiting I do some skyward birding, well it's a nice day !
One duck I've never managed previously to get near at Elton is the always skittish Teal, but today a passing dog walker spooks the ducks and they promptly take to the safety of the open water and an ideal opportunity for some images. The light is pretty good, with the sun is my back the water rippling with shades of gold browns from the far bank vegetation making for some nice images.
Eurasian Teal / Common Teal
Greater Scaup
After some waiting the Scaup returns minus the usually accompanying Tufted Duck, on its own it seems much more content to dive alone but still nearer to the far bank, occasionally a dog walker pushes the duck my way enabling a closer shot but overall I'm happy getting images at this distances.
This image below was taken in October 2020 showing the plumage change well on the way to that of adult.
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