Goosander Female (Mergus Merganser)
I had to check this identity in RSPB book of British Birds, and after my last Faux Pas, I wanted to be sure of my I.D.
So its a good job I did as it is not a Merganser as I had thought it was, but still a cousin within the Merganser grouping.
Some more Info courtesy of RSPB :-
These handsome diving ducks are a member of the sawbill family, so called because of their long, serrated bills, used for catching fish. A largely freshwater bird, the goosander first bred in the UK in 1871. It built up numbers in Scotland and then since 1970 it has spread across northern England into Wales, reaching south-west England. Its love of salmon and trout has brought it into conflict with fishermen. It is gregarious, forming into flocks of several thousand in some parts of Europe.
Goosander Female (Mergus Merganser)
I had to check this identity in RSPB book of British Birds, and after my last Faux Pas, I wanted to be sure of my I.D.
So its a good job I did as it is not a Merganser as I had thought it was, but still a cousin within the Merganser grouping.
Some more Info courtesy of RSPB :-
These handsome diving ducks are a member of the sawbill family, so called because of their long, serrated bills, used for catching fish. A largely freshwater bird, the goosander first bred in the UK in 1871. It built up numbers in Scotland and then since 1970 it has spread across northern England into Wales, reaching south-west England. Its love of salmon and trout has brought it into conflict with fishermen. It is gregarious, forming into flocks of several thousand in some parts of Europe.