Chewy Fudge (14th September)

My holidays at home came to an end and it was sadly time to leave my family for another term at uni down in Cornwall.  My dad kindly offered to give me a lift down with my luggage and we even squeezed in a detour to Chew Valley Lake where we pulled up at Herons Green Bay and had a scan through the ducks for my target species.  I found the male FERRUGINOUS DUCK fairly soon and had decent views of it lingering with the numerous Tufted Ducks.

male Ferruginous Duck

A scan of the mud also produced a selection of other species, including half a dozen Black-tailed Godwits, a couple Snipe, 3 Green Sandpipers and 1 Kingfisher.  I was also keen to connect with the reported female Fudge Duck that was seen in the same bay so the scanning continued.  After a considerable amount of searching I finally found the female FERRUGINOUS DUCK preening herself only meters from the bank, right under my nose and exactly where I wasn't looking!  After reviewing my pics and noting the eye colour, I've come to the conclusion she might be an immature bird as there is still a dark speckle on the vent (remnant from a juv) and the flanks have an obviously bared look which should appear more uniform in an adult female.  Opinions welcome!

female Ferruginous Duck