Saturday 25 December 2010

Ice + Goldeneye + Heron

Christmas day lived up to it's tradition, peaceful, tranquil even - not a lot stirring and a calmness over the riverside. A slight thaw allowed slabs of ice to break away with the outgoing tide. The weather news tells us that this could well be the coldest December on record, I would not be at all surprised.
The Heron seems to have taken a liking to the Merryton bridge as a roosting / posing spot, and was perched there today and yesterday.
Besides the attractive tufted ducks, I spotted a Goldeneye female, - it has been around for at least several days. Looking up the bird book, it is an interesting bird in so far as it nests in holes in trees, and has only been nesting in Scotland since 1970. Having been provided specially designed nest boxes close to water, they lay 8 to 11 eggs and the young jump several metres from the nest. The light was poor today so the pics don't do the bird justice - I have included a couple I took last March, perhaps the same female !

































2 comments:

david said...

lovely photos they show how beautiful the birds are keep up the good work

jayteescot1 said...

Will do my best.