Monday, 14 May 2018

THE ELUSIVE GARAGANEY

With another sunny day forecast I had intended to visit Slimbridge but then an entry on a local birding blog caught my eye, a garganey had been seen at Standlake Common. 


This being a species I've not yet manage to see ,I quickly made a change of plan and headed there straight from work. From the first hide, it was a peaceful scene, some canada geese and their young brood of goslings, a grey heron, oyster catcher and inevitable blackheaded gulls.  But no garganey here.

From the Langley Lane hide a coot was nesting right in front of the hide, some common terns popped in close by, and teal and egyptian geese were also noted.   A close look through my binoculars showed a sleeping duck which in my view looked very much like a drake garganey, although when I got home, apparently there had been no sign of it this morning. What do you think? 

garganey?

canada goose family

coot on nest
common tern


grey heron


Leaving Standlake, I headed for nearby Farmoor Reservoir. Here there were more broods of goslings and ducklings, a dunlin,   a little egret from the hide, but annoyed I missed the black necked grebe in the far SW corner! GRrrr.!

more coots eggs

dunlin



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