Fairburn Ings twitching Ring-necked Duck

 Once again I was destined to spend the week working away down south, which meant I spent the second half of bank holiday Monday completing the long and tedious drive necessary to reach Suffolk. However, it was not a complete loss. As with last week, there were options available in the Aire Valley reserves to have a stop and look, which would break up the long journey. This time it was a very dapper Ring-necked Duck drake, which had arrived the previous day at Fairburn Ings. Presumably, this is the same long-staying bird that has been at Old Moor for the months preceding.

From the description, the best place to view would have been from the hide at Lin Dyke, so that’s where I planned to go. However, its been a long time since my last visit here, and I helpfully overshot the car park there. This actually worked out great, as a few hundred metres further up the road a group of four Fairburn regulars were scoping the New Flash from the roadside. I quickly pulled over and asked if this was the best location to view the Ring-necked Duck from, and they promptly pointed me in its direction, not too far away diving in the company of a group of Pochards.

Over the next half an hour or so, I watched the bird move slowly closer to me, before it once again began to move away. The light was not in our favour, but the bird itself was great, a really smart drake. This is my second time seeing this species in the UK, the other also being in West Yorkshire, on Anglers CP. There was not much of a supporting cast, it being late in the afternoon, but a flyover Marsh Harrier and Red Kite are always appreciated. 

-Ring-necked Duck

Species List:
RSPB Fairburn Ings: Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Mallard, Common Pochard, Ring-necked Duck, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Swift, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Northern Lapwing, Black-headed Gull, Great Cormorant, Little Egret, Western Marsh Harrier, Red Kite, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Common Reed Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Common Starling, Common Reed Bunting,

Anglers CP twitching Ring-necked Duck

My most dipped British species is Ring-necked Duck but having seen them in two countries before, I was in no rush to twitch the individual that turned up at Anglers CP, less than an hours drive from my house. But I made plans to visit on my way to Spurn for new years.
On arrival to the site I was disappointed to find the site bursting with families and dogs, but fortunately there was still a wide range of wildfowl on display and, although it took some time, I was able to locate the Ring-necked Duck on the far side of the lake from the hide. Although it spent much of its time asleep, even when I was on the bank closest to it, the bird did finally awake about ten mins before my parking ticket ran out, so that was a bonus. A nice British tick to round off the year.


Species List:
Anglers CP: Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Common Shelduck, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Common Pochard, Ring-necked Duck, Tufted Duck, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Northern Lapwing, Common Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Mew Gull, European Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Great Cormorant, Eurasian Magpie, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Common Starling, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Dunnock, White Wagtail, Common Chaffinch, Lesser Redpoll, European Goldfinch,