20230311 (11)_Lesser_Scaup
Lesser Scaup first-winter male almost moulted to adult, on Farmoor Reservoir, Oxfordshire. This artificial reservoir complex, built up above the surrounding landscape, has an astonishing list of rare wetland and pelagic birds despite being only distantly connected to the sea by the thread of the Thames (possibly significant as this Lesser Scaup is thought to be the bird that wintered on Staines Reservoir, very close to the Thames far to the East). It also provides an excellent place to see common waterbirds partially habituated by dinghy sailors and anglers in small boats as well as local people using the long perimeter track for walks. Lesser Scaup is a North American species first detected in Britain in 1987 but which has since become a regular winter rarity/scarcity found on waters across the country.
20230311 (11)_Lesser_Scaup
Lesser Scaup first-winter male almost moulted to adult, on Farmoor Reservoir, Oxfordshire. This artificial reservoir complex, built up above the surrounding landscape, has an astonishing list of rare wetland and pelagic birds despite being only distantly connected to the sea by the thread of the Thames (possibly significant as this Lesser Scaup is thought to be the bird that wintered on Staines Reservoir, very close to the Thames far to the East). It also provides an excellent place to see common waterbirds partially habituated by dinghy sailors and anglers in small boats as well as local people using the long perimeter track for walks. Lesser Scaup is a North American species first detected in Britain in 1987 but which has since become a regular winter rarity/scarcity found on waters across the country.