16th March: Scaup at Ham Wall

Heavy rain showers  made birding on the Avalon Marshes a rather unpleasant experience today, but as usual, there was something to reward effort. A female Greater Scaup was with Tufted Ducks briefly and distantly in front of the 2nd viewing platform at Ham Wall RSPB. Scaup are an uncommon bird in Somerset, as they tend to winter at sea when they are not on their breeding grounds in Scandinavia. Those that do stray inland often choose deep water sites like Cheddar Reservoir, rather than the shallower waters of the Somerset Levels. As far as I can remember, this is the first i've seen on the levels.

Ducks of the Aythya genus are notoriously prone to hybridisation muddying the waters of identification but i'm confident that this is the 'real deal'. The bird shows an extensive white area around the base of the bill (often somewhat restricted in Scaup X Tufted Duck Hybrids), had greyish tones to the back and flanks, had a smoothly rounded head (without any Tufted Duck style peak), and though a bit too distant to be sure, seemed to only have a small amount of black on the nail of the bill. The bill pattern is often regarded as a clincher, so hopefully tomorrow it will be back, and a bit closer, to check this.

Heavily cropped Scaup

Female Pochard

The view from the shelter of the Meare Heath hide