An exceptional record of a
Long-tailed Duck was reported yesterday and was still there this morning. It was the first ever reported Long-tailed
Duck in June for Leicestershire & Rutland and I decided to go and take a
look.
When I arrived the heavens
opened and I could see very little from the car, except for five fishing
boats. The heavy rain was affecting the
visibility but as it began to clear I noticed a few Tufted Ducks on the far
side of the dam. I drove to the small
parking area at the southeast corner of the reservoir and closer to the
birds. It was still raining but had
eased considerably and I was able to use the telescope whist sheltering under
my umbrella. It didn’t take too long to
find the Long-tailed Duck in amongst the Tufted Ducks and I had reasonable
views until the rain became heavier again and the bird began to dive. I considered the bird to be a female,
although the head pattern wasn’t perfect for a summer adult as it had a
Garganey-like white blaze above the eye that fell away beyond the eye. With the weather showing no signs of
improvement I called it a day and headed home.
Dave had called me earlier today
as he found and caught a Large Emerald moth near one of his outside
lights. It looked very butterfly-like as
it rested with the wings wide open and I was able to get a nice photo of it.
Large Emerald
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