The report of a male Ring-necked Duck at Abbeymeads Pit, just a stone's throw, from 'my' gravel pit, had me scanning the water outside my house each morning with a little extra enthusiasm. Sure enough, a good scan on Saturday 22 Dec yielded bugger-all and I assumed the bird in question was still on its favoured pit a mile away (as the duck flies)...
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| Ring-necked Duck, Leybourne Lakes Country Park, 23/12/18 |
Checking my phone shortly after 10am, I had missed calls from Adam Whitehouse and John Clements - and that only meant one thing...someone else had relocated the Ring-necked Duck outside my house. Sure enough, after a bit of running (OK, ambling) around and there was the bird in question - fast asleep with Tufties and Pochard.
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Ring-necked Duck, Leybourne Lakes Country Park, 23/12/18
(far right) |
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After taking a few naff record shots I returned home - it taking me a further hour before I could finally nail the bird from the lounge window!
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Ring-necked Duck, Leybourne Lakes Country Park, 23/12/18
(somewhere in there..) |
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Whilst this visitor from North America is 'best' bird so far for the garden/house list, I am often reminded that the male Golden-winged Warbler of 1989 was seen where I now live. I missed it...as I spent winter of 88/89 in Jamaica - returning to the UK days after the ruddy thing had departed...
