Ducks & Geese: Anatidae
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Tufted Duck Eurasian Aythya fuligula
Most earlier names for this lovely little duck refer to the males black and white plumage such as: White-sided duck or diver (Armagh) Black Wigeon (Devon), Black Poker (Norfolk; ‘poker’ is a common name for duck is those parts. I’ve no idea why, and I come from there), Black Curre (Hants), Gold-eye Duck (Wexford) Crested Diver (Ireland) Curre Wigeon (Somerset), Doucker (Islay).
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Aythya fuligula   U. Stirling   10/12/2024 15:39

   Canon R5 EF500mm f4 1/125th ISO5000
bright-eyes
Now, I am sure I am going to disagree with myself later, but ‘tufties’ are my favourite duck. They’re small, cute, cuddly and utterly undemonstrative. They don’t go around kicking up the place and disturbing the peace like Mallards, they just get on with the job of being a sweet little duck. What’s not to like?

Despite this it was only last year that I got a few pictures I thought worthy of sticking up here. The reason for this might be that they are a diving duck and they do a jolly lot of it. You can follow one in the viewfinder waiting for it to face the right way, get in the right light, for a photo-bombing Mallard to bugger-off. Then, just as you think ‘yup that’ll do nicely' and press the shutter it’s bloody gone, and yup you another picture of a disappearing ‘tufties’ arse, or just a circle of tiny waves.

If there is a ‘secret’ it’s to find one that’s just popped back up like this chap here, still with a few drops of water left. I still can’t decide if a tuftie’s eye is magical looking, or slightly menacing. The reason I like this picture is almost entirely because of the colours and patterns in the water, not saying you will.
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Aythya fuligula    U. of Stirling   10/12/2024

   Canon R5 EF500mm f9.5 1/128th ISO12800
is it, isn't it
Well ok, while an adult breeding male is easy to spot, I find it harder with the telling of females from juveniles, the latter show a lot of variability, and lighting can help in confusion. So, what I’m about to say might be balls, but that doesn’t mean anyone gainsaying it is necessarily right right either, there often seems to be an unnecessary amount of arrogance and over-confidence in many birders, but that said I am certain this is an immature male, absolutely no doubt about it, or it could be a female perhaps!

Actually, I do think it’s a juvenile, but it might not be. Take your shots.
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Aythya fuligula    U. of Stirling   11/12/2024 09:40

   Canon R5 EF500mm f4 1/724th ISO6400
is it, isn't it, part 2
Now this is, absolutely, a female. Or a juvenile. Whatever she, he, it, might be I think she looks great. Again fresh from the water. I do like the mellow colours here, browns and grey, all highlighted by that bright golden eye. And that little top-knot. Lovely.

If you are wondering why this sweet little duck looks startled, it might be because his mum right in front of him, and to whom he was cheerfully chatting to, just disapeared that moment, leaving no more than a small circle.
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Aythya fuligula   U. Stirling   11/12/2024 09:53

   Canon R5 EF500mm f4 1/125th ISO1250
smirk
Yes, of course, it’s a male, again fresh from a dive, this idea is working for me at the moment. But he’s here to illustrate the power of hydrophobicity (look it up, you ought to have paid more attention at school) the ‘magic’ that powers the saying ‘like water from a ducks back'. Look at the tail, at the extent it can depress the water’s surface.

Actually, the real reason he’s here is because I like the really cute expression on his face. Like a cheeky little smile, he's hiding something, but what is it? I instinctively look behind me in case some of his mates are about to push me in
Mallard or Wild Duck Anas platyrhynchos
Well truly the ubiquitous duck, certainly in the Northern Hemisphere. Where it didn't get to by its own efforts, it has been introduced, including into chunks of Oz and NZ. It has often seemed to me that within a few minutes of flying anywhere in the world you hear that irritating 'quack-quack-quack' of a Mallard. I'm sorry, I live by a pond and being woken by that loud 'quack-bloody-quack' at 3am gets stale quick, and they come round for bread, and bang on the back door, so I kinda have a love-hate relationship with this species. The chicks are cute though!

As 'the' duck it has had a fair number of names: Stock Duck (Orkney), Mire Duck (Forfar), Moss Duck (Renfrew, Aberdeen), Muir Duck (Stirling), Grey Duck (Lancashire) and the They've Shit on the Back Step Again Duck (Here).

Like so many birds they can forecast the weather, as in:

    " When ducks are driving through the burn
      That night the weather takes a turn."

In early usage the male was called Mallard and the female just Duck, the young were delightfully called 'Flappers'. We've all heard of the game 'ducks and drakes' for skimming stones on water which comes from the half-run on water half-fly actions of disturbed ducks.

Pointer in the "Oxoniensis Academia " (1749) relates the custom of the All Saints College, Oxon, of holding a 'Mallard Night' on 14th Jan every year to celebrate/remember a drake mallard imprisoned in a gutter or drain under the All Souls college and grown to a "vast bigness". I give you therefore parts of "The Merry Old Song of the All Souls' Mallard".

    " Griffin, bustard, turkey, capon,
      Let other hungry mortals gape on;
      And on their bones their stomach fall hard,
      But let All Souls' men have their Mallard.
      Oh ! by the blood of King Edward,
      Oh ! by the blood of King Edward,
      It was a swapping, swapping Mallard.


      The Romans once admired a gander
      More than they did their chief commander
      Because he saved, if some don't fool us,
      The place that's called the head of Tolus,
      Oh ! by the blood, etc. "

It goes on but you probably have to be well bleutered to really want more. I'll move on.
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Anas platyrhynchos      08/06/2022 14:51  Strathnairn

  Canon R5 RF100-500mm f8 1/2000th ISO2000
a very questioning look
Well it dawned on me that I probably had to have a picture or two of this species, they are after-all, everywhere, so how could I ignore them. Despite that, I can’t say I was particular inspired. You see Mallards and I have a bit of a history. When we first moved into this house a pair arrived at the back door in spring, obviously expecting grub. Well they got fed. They quacked loudly to make sure you knew they’d arrived and, if this didn’t work, they would tap on the back door. If you happened to be in the bathroom one of them would fly up and quack at the window. If you were in the study they’d jump onto the window sill and tap. Demanding? You judge. Then there’s all the duck crap on the doorstep. So they are a complete pain...

… but, ignoring the shit on your shoes, the loud quacking, and their frankly distressing reproductive protocols, I have to admit they bring a certain completeness to the garden. That’s the sweet painful joy of a love/hate relationship I guess!

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Anas platyrhynchos      08/06/2022 14:51  Strathnairn

Canon R5 RF100-500mm f8 1/2000th ISO2000
cute
. . . . . then they bring their fluffy little chicks round and aaaaahhhh, “Oh, look aren’t they cute.” I am a sucker for a fluffy chick.

I mean loooook, cute. In case you hadn't noticed check out mum's half-open eye, she's keeping it all surveilled.
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Anas platyrhynchos      28/04/2026  Loch Ruthven  Canon R5ii EF500mm x1.4 f5.6 1/1025th ISO1000
... oo-er....
A peaceful, relatively bird-free, cup of tea in the Ruthven hide is disturbed by loud quacking, I look up across the water to see a pair of Mallard, they're splashing around like kids in a pool. Well it's a hot sunny day and who says they can't enjoy themselves too. Of course it might be a deliberate display. I don’t know, but they are taking turns to deliberately flap their wings onto the surface of the water. I mean it looks lke they're trying to out compete each other.

They’re right on the edge of shadows and, as the water splashes it catches the bright late afternoon sun, sparkling like diamonds against the dark. Photographically I need to be 50 metres closer, but I aint. I capture a few anyway, simply because it is an enchanting sight. There are times, too many, when you know a picture will be crap, but take some anyway!

When checking though the images, you know in the hope that despite your experience you might have been wrong earlier (I wasn't), I notice one where the male’s head-back posture looks so human. You can hear him quacking "oo-er WTF" …….

I've put it here for that reason, and to show I aint too proud to show crap pictures, mind you, I guess you know that already
Shoveler Anas clypeata
That big shovel face led to a number of local names: Blue-winged Shoveller, Shovel bill, Broad bill, Shovelard (Norfolk) Spoon bill or Spoonbeak (Norfolkagain, we used to have a lot of ducks). Also Whinyard, named after a knife with a similar shape (Waterford). However some folks in Wexford, seem not to have noticed that great big face (or perhaps they were just too polite to mention it) calling it instead the Maiden Duck. Other, non-face orientated names inc. Sheldrake (Waterford again) and, somewhat out of the blue, Kirk Tullock, my favourite.

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Anas clypeata   Tagus Estuary   18/10/2024 11:25

   Canon R5 EF500mm f5.66 700mm 1/1025th ISO200  
duck, goosed
I almost feel ashamed to put this in, I mean I don't think she'd like it. But I don't mean anything against her, I'm laughing with her, certainly not at her.

Either way, what a look! You would think for all the world that someone had goosed her (it wasn't me), I promise. Of course that brings us straight into a deep metaphysical conundrum; Is it actually possible to ‘goose’ a duck? That’s too deep for me, I draw the line at ‘is there a god’? Joking apart we all know how hard it must be to carry-off a nose like that at the best of times, and it is possible that it was me that alarmed her, not sure, but if I did, I'm sorry.
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Anas clypeata    18/10/2024 11:25  Tagus Estuary

;Canon R5 EF500mm f4 500mm 1/3165th ISO1250
sad ?
This male somehow just looks depressed, or just pissed-off. We only have part eclipse plumage here, perhaps that’s depressing him.

Of course it could be that someone has just pinched his wife’s bum and he isn’t amused. These two are taken on marshes around the Tagus during migration, and these birds have literally just dropped in, I watched them, so perhaps he’d had a bad flight, delays, lost luggage, that kinda thing. Hope he picks up soon.
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Anas clypeata    Salinas da Fuzeta, Portugal   22/10/2024 07:28

   Canon R5 EF500mm f4 1/3165th ISO640
dawn love
This couple, photographed early on a salinas, are also new arrivals, although he retains more breeding plumage.

I took this because I liked the colours, how the dawn-infused warm browns blend with the birds plumage. I also just liked the back-story of love through thousands of miles of migration evoked by his devoted following of her, mebbe I just needed a coffee.
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Anas clypeata    Tagus Estuary, Portugal   18/10/2024 11:00

   Canon R5 EF500mm f4 1/3200th ISO2500
itch
I really am not trying to mock this bird any more by focussing on that bill, but this preening female is revealing beautifully its structure. Those fine lamellae are used to filter water and retain food like invertebrates within the mouth as she feeds. This filter feeding method is somewhat analogous to the way baleen whales feed only, it has to be admitted, on a somewhat smaller scale.

Next time you get a chance watch some of these birds feeding, its fun and you might get to the Shoveller circle, where two or more (up to a few dozen) swim in a tight circle to disturb the sediment so they can capture and filter it.

If you haven't got a load of shovelers nearby you could try this link to youtube: ⇢ click ⇠   n.b. this connects to an external site: I can accept no responsibility for whatever moronic advertising shit they fling at you.

Pintail Northern Anas acuta
Named for its tapering tail, the central two feathers of which are longer than the rest, something very obvious in flight. Has been called Cracker, Winter Duck, Lady Bird (Dublin) and, for its graceful form, Harlan (Wexford), although the derivation of that escapes me. Apparently was also known as Sea Peasant (Dorset and Hants) because of the beauty of its plumage.

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Anas acuta    Tagus Estuary   18/10/2024 11:50

   Canon R5 EF500mm f4 1/3200th ISO1000
under-stated beauty
I am spoiled for choice here on the Tagus, thousands of duck of all sorts drop in over the past few hours, adding to those that arrived over the last week. Of course that comes with difficulties of finding one in ‘space’. Whilst there are many pretty poses and angles in view, all potential nice pictures, other birds surround them and cramp their style. Without moving my head I can see a few thousand duck on this lagoon. So, the hard bit here is finding one looking pretty without another ducks arse blocking the view, or another gurning in the background.

I pick a lovely female, there’s no flashy reds and blues, greens or yellows here, just understated browns and whites. But how lovely she looks, she doesn’t need no face-paint. With most duck the females play ‘plain Janes’ to the gaudy males, but that doesn’t mean they have no beauty of their own. That small-ish head, slender body and poise all clearly makes this bird ‘a lady’.

The background here of gentle blue and an extremely shallow depth of field (focus) enhances this beauty, making it clearly, in my mind, a very pretty picture of this bird.
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Anas acuta    Tagus Estuary   18/10/2024 11:57

   Canon R5 EF500mm f4 1/3200th ISO1600/h5>
squelch
There is a simple photographic technique that improves pictures of birds on the ground, or in water, beyond measure. It is called ‘laying on your belly amongst all the sheep/cow/duck/goose/elephant* shit. When you’re on a marsh/wetland you can add an inch or so of cold water to that soup, just lovely. Of course it only works if the terrain is flat, like a beach or water, but it does give a lovely intimate feel to an image. I tend not to use it anywhere near enough to be honest, mostly because I might have to wait for someone to come along and help me get up again! ( *delete as appropriate)

On this day however, the wet chest, torso, other bits, elbow and legs are worth it, delivering that intimacy nicely. This, the lady above and gent below show the benefit of using this low angle approach.

I spent a while watching a patch of shadow cast by low scrub opposite where I squelch, waiting for one of the many ducks here to wander into it, preferably while looking nice. Many come and go, all somehow contriving to give manky poses. Eventually this delightful lady turns up and poses for a minute or so against that that darker background. Nice. No strumpet's face paint and garishly coloured lingerie here, just a quiet subtle beauty, like a lady should look. It was worth the discomfort.

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Anas acuta   Tagus Estuary   18/10/2024 12:09

   Canon R5 EF500mm f4 1/3200th ISO1250
a boy
I need a male don’t I, a few minutes later and this chap drifts past close. OK he’s eclipse for sure, but he does seem to have a lady admirer, no wonder he looks a tad smug. May they live happily together for ever more.
Wigeon Anas penelope
From its enchanting whistling call it was given the names: Whistler, Whim, Whewer or Whew Duck, Pandle Whew (Norfolk). Also called Half Duck in Norfolk because its diminutive size made it only worth half the value of a Wild Duck (Mallard). Not much gets past those fiscally astute Norfolkians, even if it is a somewhere mercenary viewpoint. Has also been called Bald Pate (I say nothing), Golden Head or Yellow poll for the male's head colour.

Norfolk also gave us another truly great name for this bird, ' Winder'. Look, part of me really wants to know why, I just rebel from typing that into google!

Let's move on.
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Anas penelope   Moray Firth   28/02/2025 11:18

   Canon R5 EF500mm f4 1/4098th ISO250
you and me both
I have chosen the wrong day for this walk alongside the upper reaches of the Moray Forth, it is miserable and wet. I met this lady, looking as dejected as I was, and asked if I could take a picture of her. She made a lot of noise about not looking her best, damp hair, bit of grass stuck in her mouth, that sort of stuff. I assured her no, she looked all natural woman. She cheered up a bit and I took a few. You've got to speak to a lady right.
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Anas penelope   >Cromarty Firth   28/02/2025 11:18

   Canon R5 EF500mm f4 1/1025th ISO800
don't i look good
Driving alongside the northern edges of the Moray Firth I spotted a few wigeon messing about, lit by mid-morning sun. It was a good 10 minutes before I could turn around, drive back and find somewhere to park, they were still there. I choose this male because he paddled in the shadow showing that lovely yellow stripe on brown to good effect. It’s pretty enough.
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Anas penelope   >Cromarty Firth   28/02/2025 11:18

   Canon R5 EF500mm f4 1/1025th ISO800
where are you off to my love?
Many days of sunshine drive me out again, along the southern side of the Moray Firth this time. It’s February and the bright low sun is creating just a lovely light. It has been a bit stormy overnight and I am hoping it might have driven the large rafts of duck and goose normally found here in winter to seek shelter nearer inland. It is also high-tide, another reason for timing this visit, it will also push waders up close, so hopefully a double-whammy of treats. Modest waves are still effecting the normally sheltered bay I visit second. The ‘beach’ is only a foot or so wide right now and a raft of wigeon float just a few feet from some cover where I can hide. Getting from the landie, I camo up, click, strap, bind, all the bondage gear I wear to carry the camera and detour away from the water to creep up behind some nice prickly gorse. There many wigeon here, looking absolutely gorgeous in the low bright winter sun, I take many pretty images that would be here, except for this couple, they have to win a place, well three.

The waves aren’t exactly causing these birds to fret much, but clearly it’s not as relaxing as just floating about, whistling. Anyway I see a female lead a male a few metres away from the close-in sheltered area into rather ‘deeper-waters’. Not sure what her plans are, who knows what goes on in a lady’s mind, but her man dutifully follows her (sucker).

Within seconds and they’re in a little chop – I cannot imagine this is something you will see as close unless you’re in a boat or something. She’s determinedly swimming on – he’s muttering something I am sure……..
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Anas penelope   >Cromarty Firth  28/02/2025 11:18

   Canon R5 EF500mm f4 1/1025th ISO800
that's gone right up my farking nose ....
as she crosses the crest of the wave …….. the inevitable happens and it hits him solidly and squarely in the face……….. despite laughing out loud I keep a grip of the camera. A part of me, I can't say which, wonders if she'd planned all that for a laugh.
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Anas penelope   >Cromarty Firth   28/02/2025 11:18

   Canon R5 EF500mm f4 1/1025th ISO800
....... weeeeeeeeeeee......
she ploughs ‘downhill’ leaving him to wonder if perhaps he’s picked a girl a bit too wild.

Of course great rafts of duck, esp sea-duck, will weather, well, worse weather, out to sea, and this might have been a bit of fun, who knows?
Teal Anas crecca
Derived either from Old Dutch teling, the Middle Low German telink, or west Germanic taili. There you are, now you know, unless I'm wrong of course! Has also been called Jay Teal (Kirkcudbright – most likely for its colours) and Tael Duck (Scotland).

Now we're going to get into that old is it a separate species or not thing again. There is a closely related (same?) duck called the green-winged or American teal found, yup you got there, in North America. This used to be considered the same species and the US ornithological society still says it is, others of course claim a new one. Perhaps, we'll go to war over it. Oh, and the 'American' ones frequently pop-up over here. Who knows? I don't eagerly count 'ticks' in a little book, so I don't care all that much.

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Anas crecca    Tagus estuary   18/10/2024 11:29

   Canon R5 EF500mm f4 1/3250th ISO3200
pretty little duck
I’m still laying down somewhere in the marshes around the Tagus, it saves trying to get up and there are lots of birds to amuse me in the meantime.

A fair number of this little duck came in with the last flight, but most are now busy preening and looking ‘messy’. Many are eating, arses stuck nicely in the air, if you want that sort of picture, I don’t, thank you very much.

This male comes to join me, sadly a bit of vegetation is in the way but he looks nice enough so I take his picture. He isn’t in prime breeding plumage, but he looks pretty enough for here I think.
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Anas crecca    Tagus estuary   18/10/2024 11:25

   Canon R5 EF500mm f4 1/3165th ISO3200
I'm pretty too ..
There are a number of other teal amongst the fringing vegetation around me, mostly hidden. I wait longer and another comes out, this time against a more colourful background, so I snap him as well. I suspect in the fullness of time I won’t allow myself to keep two near-identical images like this, but for now.
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Anas crecca    Strathnairn   09/03/2025 13:36

Canon R5 EF500mm f6.7 1/1025th ISO1000
snack
I have been sitting in a comfy hide, hoping against hope those Slavonian grebes miles away might come a lot closer, yeah dream on. In my peripheral vision I see a Teal madly dashing about.

Picking up my bins I can see he’s actually picking newly emerged insects from the surface. The camera follows and I try to get a picture or two. Sadly, he’s also a long way off, and it isn’t going to be good, but it makes a fair behaviour picture, so I’ll leave it in for a while.
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Anas crecca    Moray Firth   14/02/2025 11:25

   Canon R5 EF500mm f5.66 (1.4x) 700mm 1/1025th ISO200
"overpaid, oversexed, and over here"
I mentioned the American Teal thing above, well here’s an example of one with some European friends, a long way off but you can see the white stripe easily enough. Is it another tick for some, not for me.

I shall not mention that he appears to have a lady friend, does that prove the old WW2 saying?
Eider Somateria mollissima
Has been called: the Great Black and White Duck, OK not the most poetic for sure, but it covers all the bases! also Dusky Duck, which suits the female and young juvenile, and from Shetland we have Dunter and Dunter Duck This latter maybe from the Swedish dun = down and taer a = to gnaw, from its habit of plucking down from its breast when hatching eggs. Lastly, from Northumberland, we have St. Cutherbert's duck or Cudberduce, this from their nesting on the Farne islands, where they provided companions for the saint's solitude. I don't think you could wish for better mates, sitting on a rock on your own or not.

For such a large imposing duck, they have the most soft and enchanting call, If you've not heard it before then: 🔊 Click to play. Note this automatically opens a popup window that plays the call and then closes. The recording lasts approx one minute. Check volume before playing!

»  »  »  Health Warning  « « «    This call is addictive. I cannot be held responsible if you spend all day listening to it over, and over, and . . . .

Recording is by Thomas Bergman, to whom I gratefully give all thanks and acknowledgements. The recording can be found at https://xeno-canto.org/539071.

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Somateria mollissima ♂   Pittenweem, Fife   22/03/2026 17:15

   Canon R5ii EF500mm 1.4x f8 1/1580th ISO800
Well, I said, did I not, that I might be uncertain re. my favourite duck. But I do know one thing, Eiders are right up there. Great big and cuddly, with a superb bold colour scheme, well the males anyway. And what a sound track. Being a ‘norfuk’ boy, it was a long time before I saw one of these lovelies. In fact I think it was during the anti-Torness nuclear power station demonstrations in ‘77 and ‘78 (good times!). It was love at first sight. A thousand moons later and I moved to Shetland, where they are fairly numerous. SO, how come I only have crap pictures of them. I don’t know, perhaps it was that, oh I can go after them tomorrow thing.

Well I knew I had to get back to these big lovelies, and that time has finally come. First stops are along the Fife coast, stopping from place to place to gaze out to sea. At Pittenweem, I spot a gaggle ‘hanging out’ in the small active part of the harbour. It seems a trawler has only recently parked and unloaded. I’d like to think mebbe a nice trawlerman (I expect it’s trawlerperson now) has bunged a few bits to these patient ducks. Their behaviour is a total contrast to the squabbling gulls that share the harbour with them.

This is my first close contact with my favourite duck for 2 decades, and they are as absolutely lovely as I remember. I take a load then, of course, I want to get closer. Actually I’d really just like to pick one up and cuddle it! I’d also prefer a better angle on the light. So, I sneak into the restricted area to get closer and try to get the evening sun over my right shoulder Then I realise I’ve overdone it, I’m too close to them I have to remove the 1.4x lens from the 500mm.

This chap happened to drift past, I asked if he’d mind me taking his picture. He replied that he’d be delighted as he had been expecting me ever since his cousin from Shetland had told him I’d be along some time. “But how come it has been so many years?” he added. I bowed my head in contrition said I really didn’t know. Then I took his picture. I wished him well.
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Somateria mollissima ♀   >Pittenweem, Fife   22/03/2026 17:21

   Canon R5ii EF500mm f8 1/2660th ISO4000
hamster
Just as I started to move off, thinking I should get a few pictures of the Greater black-backs nearby he shouted “hang on a minute mate, meet the missus, would you mind taking her picture for me please”. He called, and she drifted over, I said that she looked really sweet, and took her picture. I meant it, she does.

Those ‘hamster cheeks’ of course result partly from the strong jaws and muscles needed to crack open the marine Molluscs and Crustacea, esp mussels, that form a large part of their diet. So they’re ‘mussel muscles’ really, what a child I am. Of course that characteristic head slumped into their shoulders look helps too.
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Somateria mollissima ♀   Pittenweem, Fife   22/03/2026 17:21

   Canon R5ii EF500mm f8 1/2660th ISO4000
larf
As soon as I’ve taken the first picture he tells her to give a big sexy smile. She laughs, and tell him to ‘bugger off’. It gives a great chance tho’ of see more of the structure of that bill, tough enough to crunch through mussel shells and other marine Mollusca. I keep my fingers well clear.
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Somateria mollissima ♂   Seahouses, Northumberland   25/03/2026 13:25

Canon R5ii EF500mm f7 1/2049th ISO320
beautiful duck, ugly people
Well my Eider safari wasn’t limited to Fife, and a few days later I’m down on the Northumberland coast. I strike it rich in Seahouses harbour when I notice a small party down near the beach. I take to the wet sand, literally. I want some low angle views and if I can’t lie in wet sand I may as well give up photography. After perhaps 10 minutes of watching them floating about, and me sniping the odd shot, I notice that about half a dozen are drifting towards the beach itself. It dawns on me their intention is to come out onto the sand, mere metres from me. Wow, what an excellent treat.

Closer and closer to the beach they get, I follow through the viewfinder, finger poised, these are going to be lovely picture. And now I may blaspheme profoundly because I know of no other way to express my utter contempt for inconsiderate selfish brainless moronic human behaviour. Just as these beautiful birds were perhaps 2 metres from the shore a missile flies past me, furiously barking and splashing out toward the now rapidly retreating Eider. Moments later three inane voices of the insentient could be heard waddling toward me, probably debating where to get their next packet of chips. Now I know I should not blame the dog, he was, after-all, only following his instincts. And of course he was by far the most intelligent of the four by a long chalk, so they weren’t going to have enough brain power enough to think beyond their chip/face discussion. I think I’ll stop there. I’ve have been told I should be more understanding, more tolerant. Well, as we say in Norfolk, ‘fark that!’

Turning my attention back to the Eider as they drift away I take some more pictures, but it all seems somewhat hollow now, the excitement has gone.
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Somateria mollissima ♂    Seahouses, Northumberland   25/03/2026 13:25

   Canon R5ii EF500mm f7 1/2049th ISO320
stretch
Well this male restores my good humour a tad as he rises up and shakes water from his head. I wonder if it’s preparatory their ‘head back’ display. Please. But no he settles back, content for now to drift about in the sun. Of course I might have had nice pictures of him sitting on the beach, but I don't do I.

The head colour of his out of focus compadre tho’ fascinates me. I am not sure if it’s the angle of the light or some other reason. Is he in charge perhaps! I’ll look into it, although if you know please tell me.
***
 
Somateria mollissima ♂   Seahouses   22/03/2026

   Canon R5ii EF500mm x1.4 f8 1/2049th ISO160    
 
They do have eyes!
After spending a long time removing every grain wet sand from my clothes, my rucsac and, especially the camera I return to the harbour structure itself to explore. A few Eider are floating around here and the harbour wall is creating a big wedge of shadow.

I want to capture one of them in the sun but set against the dark shadowed water. Oh, for trained birds. Several swim directly into the shadow, one manages to pose beautifully at the sort of perfect location I hoped for, but with its arse facing me. Ho hum. Then at last, as I’m seriously thinking of giving up, one floats perfectly along the ‘terminator’ for a few moments. Snap. Thank you. Move on, ever on.

I’ve chosen the close up here, mostly because you can see that this duck does have eyes! Usually, they get lost in that black head stripe. Photographically they are tricky birds, such a contrast between the that black and white. And that pink chest is very subtle too and can get lost as well.
***
 
Somateria mollissima/Anas platyrhynchos hybrid ♂    Seahouses, Northumberland   25/03/2026 12:55

   Canon R5ii EF500mm x1.4 f8 1/2049th ISO4000
WTF
As I continue to wander around, I catch sight of something weird swimming around behind some moored tourist boats parked in the first part of harbour. And I mean weird.

At first glance I wonder if this is some lost juvenile migrant, but of what? I move to get closer and better views. Umm, I am no nearer knowing what the f… I’m looking at. I take a few pictures to give myself time to trawl through my memory, it takes longer now. I mean what is it? I obviously don’t know every duck on Earth, but surely I know those likely to turn up. My head begins to hurt, and I feel embarrassed. I decide to give up and quietly move on, pretending I haven't seen it!

So what actually is it? After returning home I find out. Well, it’s presumed to be a hybrid Eider/Mallard cross, and apparently quite well-known to local birders. Indeed there may be a few of them about on this part of the coast. Similar ‘mutants’ that is.

I don’t know which way round it’s parent were, so to speak. Did a male Eider get amorous with a lady Mallard after one too many in the nearby ‘Ship’ public house one Friday night. Or did a lady Eider succumb to the ‘charms’ of a male Mallard. I mean given the beautiful courtship display and calls of the Male Eider compared to the raucous quack bloody quack of a mallard it seems unlikely. But of course we all know of the oft-adopted male mallard ‘courtship’ of quickly jump-on lads, you hold her down. Does this avian monstrosity result from such a ‘rape’. Given the size difference, and those jaws, it seems improbable to me, but not impossible I suppose. Well I don’t know

He certainly doesn’t get in here on pretty or artistic grounds, it's just so you know what one looks like. You know, if you meet one down a dark alley one night.
***
Somateria mollissima ♀   Elie   22/03/2026

   Canon R5ii EF500mm x1.4 f8 1/1025th ISO1250
big duck, bigger sea
I’m walking out along Elie harbour, out past the old grain store, it’s quite a blowy day and outside the sea wall there is a fair bit of swell. Way out I spot a few Eider, where they should be, in the sea, not skulking around in harbour! As the waves rise and fall they keep disappearing behind the sea, it gives me a chance to capture a sinking movement.

Well I thought it looked cute.
***
 
Somateria mollissima ♀   Elie   22/03/2026

   Canon R5ii EF500mm x1.4 f8 1/2049th ISO2500
courtship
After watching them for a bit I finally make out that this little group is composed of 2 males and a couple of ladies. Despite the swell the presence of female company encourages the boys to show-off. Soon I am lucky enough to see the head and neck courtship display being performed. I can’t tell if they’re trying to out-perform each other, but I like the apparent indifference of the leading lady as she stares straight ahead. It must be frustrating for them, I mean it looks as though one of the chaps has managed to get his head up his own bum, and that’s no mean trick.
***
 
Somateria mollissima ♀   Elie   22/03/2026

   Canon R5ii EF500mm x1.4 f8 1/2049th ISO2500
courtship
The classic head flick and one boy seems to sink in disgrace. The indifference is still superb, with the second lady, having now reappeared from behind the sea, just looking the other way.

If these girls really aren’t impressed, how shall we get baby eiders?
Shelduck Tadorna tadorna
Its variegated or ‘sheld’ (shield) plumage gave us: Common Sheldrake, Scale drake, Sheld fowl (all from Orkney), Shell duck (Lancashire), Skeel goose or Skeel duck (Scotland). The bright red-brown belt round the breast to the back resulted in Bar gander (Essex), Bar drake (Ireland) and Bay duck (Norfolk). Other various names inc.: St. Georges duck, Burrow duck (this for its frequent choice of rabbit burrows for nesting), Pirennet (Pied ent or Pied duck). Also Stock annet (East Scotland), Sly goose (Orkney, named for its apparently crafty nature ). Finally, we have Links goose (also Orkney: not because it plays golf (I mean be serious now, how would it?), rather it derives from the old English word ‘hlinc’ meaning ‘sandy plains near the sea’. That is also why many golf courses are called links. Bet you knew that already, I didn’t. While we’re on old redundant languages it was known as Hwyaid yr Eithin (Welsh) and cràdh-ghèadh (Gaelic).

***
 
Tadorna tadorna   Tentsmuir   21/03/2026

   Canon R5ii EF500mm x1.4 f6.4 1/2049th ISO32000
big duck, bigger beach, long way away!
I’m on the Fife coast, at the very northern end of Tentsmuir, it’s a drab grey evening. One of my ‘target’ birds for this trip is Shelduck, a species I seldom see, except well off to sea. Crossing the sand-dunes until I get a view of the shore I catch sight of my quarry. Three of them, but way off, too far for any good pictures. Still they are here. I carefully climb a tad higher up the dune to get a better look but quickly see that any closer approach is barred by 10 metre of open water, hard to creep through that I think, so I take one or two ‘insurance’ pictures. This is one of them, just to show how nice this bird is.
***
 
Tadorna tadorna    Tentsmuir   21/03/2026

   Canon R5ii EF500mm x1.4 f6.4 1/2049th ISO1600
fly past
just as I’m about to climb down out of sight, to try and circle a bit for a slightly closer view they take flight, the buggers.

As I quickly bring the camera up, changing focus modes as I do so. Exposure tho’, umm, that’s tricky, even though, theoretically, the sun is behind me, it’s hidden by heavy cloud, meaning they’re effectively against the light, I’ll never get that lovely green neck without blasting the whites, the sea and sky to kingdom come. Deciding to give just +half an ev I track them and capture a few, they’ll be pants I know. Yet again I’m proven right!

Initially, three take to the sky, for a bit formation flying, before long the last one peels away. I believe the red arrows do something similar
***
 
Tadorna tadorna   Tentsmuir   21/03/2026

   Canon R5ii EF500mm x1.4 f6.4 1/2049th ISO1600
almost synchronised
the remaining two begin to get themselves organised
***
 
Tadorna tadorna   Tentsmuir   21/03/2026

   Canon R5ii EF500mm x1.4 f6.4 1/2049th ISO1600
perfection
finally we have a perfect harmony, they’d look good cast in ceramic and on the wall!

As they fly away I check the time, good god it’s gone six and I’m still 5 km from the car, then I need to drive to St. Andrews, we’re supposed to be going out for dinner, I’m going to get it in the neck!
Red-Breasted Merganser Aythya fuligula
Mergus is a small but widespread genus of only 4 species, with the Goseander and Red-breasted merganser being found around all of the northern continents. Commonly known as saw-bills for the sharply-toothed edges to their bills, an adaptation for catching and holding fish. This delightful duck has had a host of names. From its saw-edged bill, for grabbing fish, not eating trees, we have: Lesser-toothed Diver, Sawbill Aberdeen, Stirling) Sawneb (Aberdeen) and Sawbill Widgeon. The names Herald and Herald Duck (Shetland, Forfar) is probably derived from the Icelandic haveld, which probably likewise contributed Harle and Harle Duck (Orkney) and possibly Land Harlan (Wexford). Has also been called Bardrake, Scale Duke (Strangford Lough), Grey Dive (Islay) and, a somewhat left-field name, Pooping Pigeon. Not sure what the person who invented that name was drinking. I expect you can’t get it any more.

***
 
Mergus serrator   Loch Ness   20/06/2013 15:26

   Canon 7D EF100-400mm f9 1/500th ISO400
the challenges of the wildlife photographer
OK these first two images here are going to test my honesty.

I ought to tell a tale of the struggle to locate the bird, the month-long story of never more than distant views, living under wind-blown and blizzard-swept rocks, supplies gone, eating my own toe-nails for food, followed by crawling on my stomach over sharp volcanic rock, hands bleeding, incipient scurvy and developing malaria. Finally to locate a nest, waiting for the eggs to hatch, chewing on gorse to sustain myself now the toe-nails have gone, and to help fight the scurvy. Eventually, the day comes and the chicks appear, using the last of my strength my bloody finger presses the shutter release. Falling back, elated by success, I find a renewed vigour, a final effort, I crawl the three hundred miles back to my canoe where I find a passing bear has chewed the bow off. Using my underpants I manage to repair it enough to paddle the edge of the ice-sheet, bare buttocks frozen to the seat ……….. well you get the idea I hope. And if I want to sell to National Geographic this is the sort of heroic tale I will need to learn to weave of course.

Or I could tell the slightly truer tale of stopping at a garage near loch ness to buy an ice-cream, it was a hot lovely day indeed, as I licked it I wandered over to look at the river, a few metres away I see a mummy merganser and some chick swimming toward me. I took their pictures, here are a few !
***
 
Mergus serrator    Loch Ness   20/06/2013 15:26

   Canon 7D EF100-400mm f5.6 1/500th ISO100
not really that easy
Now I fear I may have understated some of the human struggle with that last story, don’t forget I was holding an ice-cream, a camera and a long-lens, and I aint got three hands. You try it sometime, it's not that easy.
***
Mergus serrator   Loch Ness   20/06/2013 15:27

   Canon 7D EF100-400mm f9 1/250th ISO400
.. the chick's struggle..
OK, which story was true is up to you to decide. But just watching those chicks struggling to all fit on mum’s back at the same time was an absolute scream. They could nearly all manage it, but not quite. One would push its way up and another would fall off, disgruntledly swimming round to join the queue again.
Mandarin Aix galericulata
Native to a fairly large part of East Asia its range collapsed following widespread deforestation, not least because it nests in trees! What a great species we are? Given the striking colouration of the males it was also widely captured and exported to the rich in the west, yes lovely. As a result, of escapes from these collections it has become established in small numbers in the UK. I see a few in the wild here, and they look cute for sure. I just wish they'd been left alone. Unknown in the wild of the UK at the times of folk like Rev. Swainson I have nothing to really add. So, spend a moment to think about how truly destructive our species has been, and continues to be.

***
 
Aix galericulata    Strathnairn   05/11/2023 12:54

   Canon R5 EF500mm (x1.4) f9.93 1/4098th ISO12800
another sad tale
We have an itinerant pair near where I live, you see them once in a blue-moon. Beating lottery-winning odds I was actually carrying the camera when I spotted this couple on the ‘you’ll never get a picture of a grey wagtail here’ stream. A bit rich for a small Scottish stream perhaps, but he brought a little brightness to offset November gloom.
***
 
Aix galericulata    Strathnairn   05/11/2023 12:57

   Canon R5 EF500mm (x1.4) f9.93 1/4098th ISO12800
you ok my love
I imagine his chances of finding another lady on this side of the world are vanishingly small, and he seems to know it. I watch them a while and they are so obviously ‘a couple’. There is nonetheless a sadness about two birds torn so far from their home. We are utter bastards aren’t we?
Goldeneye Bucephala clangula
Golden-eyed garrot. Gowdy Duck (Lothian; Orkney), Pied pigeon, Whiteside (Westmorland), Grey-headed Duck, Rattlewings (Norfolk), Whistler, Diving Duck (Shetland) Diver or Doucker (Roxburgh). Popping Wigeon. The latter because it pops down and up suddenly.

And not a mention of James Bond anywhere.

***
Bucephala clangula ♂    Eden Estuary   20/03/2026

   Canon R5ii EF500mm x1.4 f8 1/1580th ISO2500     
 
Eden?
On the way to St. Andrews for a couple of nights I stop-off at the a place modestly named Eden Estuary. Just to see whatever I can see! There is supposed to be hide here and there is, but the boor is locked, umm not a lot of help. As I rant and rave, wondering if I could jemmy it open, I notice a sign besides the door advising me to ‘Call this number if locked’. My mood naively rises. I dial the number, no answer, then a message advising me to leave a message. I do. There is space to get a bit of a view so I make do. As I look around I spot a pair of Goldeneye swimming about and diving, quite a way off but nicely lit. As the last time I saw any these lovely ducks they were miles away I decide to take their picture for something to do, you know while I wait for that call back. 2 months later I’m still waiting! If this is Eden it needs a customer service update.

The male is my first target (sexist?). Although the afternoon sun is nice, there is a patch of shadow cast by a strip of trees I’d like him to be contrasted against, and he is swimming that way after-all. Well he dives and swims repeatedly, eventually getting there. He’s even farther away now but the lighting is pretty. I snap a few. He has just surfaced and, seeing how far his girlfriend is away now, he puts on a bit of speed, hence that bow-wave. It's approaching breeding time, and he doesn't want ot lose her. That's love that is.
***
 
Bucephala clangula ♂ & ♀  Eden Estuary   20/03/2026

   Canon R5ii EF500mm x1.4 f5.6 1/1025th ISO160
back together
After a bit of fast swimming he gets back to her and they continue in formation. They’re a long way out but I take a few. Clearly a placeholder till I find better views.
Mute Swan Cygnus olor
I have to admit that I am no great lover of Mute Swans, to make it worse, I really have no idea why! It could be because my mother truly adored them, and don't we always rebel against our parents? Anyway, even I will confess, that sitting on a mist-shrouded, reed-fringed dyke in the Norfolk Broads, watching one or two silently and serenely drift past in early-dawn light is an ethereal, almost quasi-mystical sight. Before I try to write poetry, (trust me my only potential niche in that art was fully filled by the great Dr John Cooper Clarke), let's get back some early work.

Such a big bold bird was hardly likely to escape Shakespeare's notice, the Globe, site of many first performances, was after-all along the Thames, and it appears as:

" A swan-like end, fading in music " in Merchant of Venice, and:

" I will play the swan, and die in music " in Othello.

Both allude, of course, to the old legend of Swans singing before death. which seems to date back to ancient Greece. Plato assigns the idea to Socrates that 'swans do sing in early life but not as beautifully as the do before death. Now, they covered some good ground did those ancient philosophers (if you want to know why you're wasting your time voting you gotta read Plato's Republic, it will save you a lot of time), but they also invented Ouzo, and sat in the sun a lot, I mean god knows what they heard singing.

Oh, they are actually not totally mute, but often 'talk' to their young using low soft notes. They were of course protected as a royal bird or King's Fowl, but this is a tedious story and I refer you to either Wiki or ' Birds Brittanica if you want to know as I've already spent too long on a bird I don’t especially like !
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Cygnus olor    U. of Stirling   21/03/2025 16:13

   Canon R5 EF500mm f4 1/1025th ISO800
b&w
there is, after-all, only one colour to offset pure white and that's pure black. Ok that's a lie, very dark blue looks nice too, but that's nearly black, right?

so wandering around Stirling University's lochan after Julie's Doctorate graduation I saw this chap paddling toward the dark shadows of a tall group of trees. Wait ..... wait .....wait some more, make sure you've got that -2.5ev compensation dialed-in ready, wait a bit more. Why doesn't this bloody bird get a move-one, I'm ready.

Eventually, in his own good time, he swims where predicted and we get a quick burst, tweak ev adjust again, get a few more. There'll be enough to pick through there.

And that is how I got a picture just like I am sure fills the hard discs of gazillions of other bird photographers. Still, it is mine, and it is my website so it goes in.
***
Cygnus olor   U. of Stirling   10/12/2024 16:13

Canon R5 EF500mm f4 1/362th ISO800
b&w (2)
well I took this because I was sort of pondering if the dead Typha and the juvenile colour-scheme (well lack of really) would make an apparent monochrome picture. Well it does sort of I suppose, but it isn't really what I was after. Sure I could turn the saturation right down to make it look more like I wanted, but that would violate the in natura bit too much.

sometimes you want a concept for a picture to work, often it just refuses
Greylag Anser anser
'Lag' is possibly derived as a corruption of the word lake, or perhaps the Italian word 'lago' also meaning lake! The latter is maybe supported by the fact the white domesticated goose is derived from greylags may have originated in Italy. Does it really matter! OK, has also been called Wild Goose (not the movie) Fen Goose, Marsh Goose, Stubble Goose and, well yes, Grey Goose, sums it up well.

Weather forecasting skills are attributed to the Greylag. It used to be thought that the shape of the skein, whether 'V' or some sort of squiggly line, could tell how many of weeks frost there would be after the sighting. Unfortunately, Swainson provides neither full details of this, nor a source, so, I'll have to continue to use the 'keep giving us the taxes and we'll have a wild stab in the dark' service offered by the Met Office. However, a far more detailed saying comes from Morayshire:

     "Wild geese, wild geese , ganging to the sea,
      Good weather it will be :
      Wild geese, wild geese , ganging to the hill
      The weather it will spill '

That'll do.


***
Anser anser    Loch Levin   26/03/2026

   Canon R5ii EF500mm xi.4 f5.6 1/1025th ISO160
nice couple
I can’t claim a deep love for geese really, just not my group I guess. And, of course, I am privileged to hear their delicate melodic calls throughout the night, sometimes in harmony with Oystercatchers! That does make a deep love a trifle hard to cultivate.

Anyway I wondered if any picture of such lumpy lumps could be considered ‘pretty’. Didn't work did it !
***
Anser anser    Strathnairn   28/05/2024

   Canon R5 EF500mm f8 1/1000th ISO6400
happy families
Another shot trying to get ‘pretty’ from a greylag, this time in a light mist. Didn't work did it !
Canada goose Branta canadensis
As with numerous ‘newer’ species to these islands it is absent from Swainson (1885) so we have no regional names and I’m on my own. I’ll summarise briefly a few things you can find yourself from the web should you wish.

Another big noisy goose, albeit a tad prettier than the ‘greys’. Numerous races or sub-species are recognised by some, more than enough to keep ‘tick-happy’ ornithologists pleased. Native to North America, it found it’s way to Europe in the early 1600s courtesy of Samuel de Champlain (1574-1635) who sent some to Louis XIII (thank you very much!). It should be noted, however, that ringing recoveries indicate they can arrive here naturally, and they are also found in parts of eastern China and Siberia. Their ability to adapt to, and tolerance of, human disturbance and habitation led to them doing rather well. Large numbers of geese inevitably produce large amounts of pooh, and this leads to considerable contention in many urban areas. They have a beautiful melodic soothing call, not!

That'll do.
***
Branta canadensis   Saltholme, Billingham   19/10/2025

Canon R5ii EF500mm x1.4 f5.6 1/2660th ISO1000
see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, scratch, look around, and just float about
I don’t go out of my way to find geese to photograph, or even bothering to point the camera at those I trip over. However, I suppose I ought to have at least one of each species. So, seeing these six making a pretty pattern and reminding me of the three wise monkeys, albeit being six dumb-arse geese, I took one. Beside it was one of a precious few sunny moments in a very wet day, and I wanted to take a picture.
PINK FOOTED Anser brachyrhynchus
These winter visitors are not mentioned in Swainson (1885). I have no idea why the Reverend missed them. They were likely unknown in many parts of the UK, and maybe frequently ‘bundled’ together with other ‘grey’ geese where they were. If I find out more about any of this, I’ll let you know. I did just buy the entire 12 volumes of Bannerman’s 1955 Birds of the British Isles, there must some history in there, when I get round to reading them.

There are so many modern sources of information in the literature, and on the web, about our wintering geese that it is probably unnecessary, and more certainly boring, to duplicate. Much of course focuses on the agricultural complexities of using traditional geese wintering areas to grow winter-crops. I was once the most minor of parts involved in research on over-wintering pink-feet (amongst others) in North Norfolk. I did learn the average time between ‘dumps’ for a goose, it’s only a matter of minutes, something to ponder when several thousand fly over your head! It’s probably best to keep your mouth closed. Such faecal ‘fecundity’ arises of course from the combination of the high energy demand required for flight, their need to put on weight to allow for long migrations, combined with a diet of energy-poor vegetation. They are ecologically committed to high throughput strategy, essentially eating continuously and therefore, well, shitting an awful lot too. Let’s move on.
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Anser brachyrhynchus    Low Newton by the sea   25/03/2025 14:00

   Canon R5ii EF500mm x1.4 f5.6 1/1025th ISO160  
bang
As I probably may have mentioned previously I’m no a goose lover, although I'll happily admit that en masse (which of course they often are!) they can be an impressive sight. Whilst taking a roundabout route to approach a couple of smallish ponds in the belief I’d get good views going that way (I was so wrong) I see a field full of pink-feet, and I mean full. A migration party has clearly stopped off for a nibble in some fields of winter wheat. Well perhaps there are a few pictures of this species over there I think. It looks good, there is some good cover courtesy of scattered patches of scrub and hedges, so I should be able to approach them, if I’m careful. Slowly, bent low, I follow a hedge line, it doesn’t go in the right direction of course, but it will lead to another, then after half mile to another that will lead to the right field. I must look like an escaped prisoner. Still it’ll be worth the effort, has to be, and this is the ‘craft’ after-all. Well after perhaps 15 minutes of stumbling (and cursing quietly) I am here. The mere thickness of one scraggy hedge is all that separates me from what I can see will be great views, I just need to find a few little gaps in the hedge big enough to photograph them though. As I ponder which way to creep …………………..

………… there is a deafening roar as a gas-gun goes off a metre or so away on the other side of the hedge. A few thousand geese take to sky and, promptly, bugger-off. A spectacular and noisy sight for sure, but I cannot believe it. I had just managed to creep up to them unnoticed after about a quarter of an hour of furtive effort, and for what? Is everybody's life like this, or is it just mine. At least I wasn’t shat on I suppose. I snap the last few in frustration as they fly away. As I return to my earlier path to what will be another unrewarding bust I hope the farmer is looking up with his mouth open.