Good timing

08 Monday Jan 2024

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Lisvane Reservoir, Ring-necked duck

I timed my visit to the north Cardiff reservoirs extremely well last Thursday because, unbeknown to me, the previous day had seen the arrival of a handsome male Ring-necked duck, drawn no doubt by the presence of a female, who has spent much of the winter cruising about Lisvane Reservoir. She had enjoyed the company of another female for a short while and a male – perhaps the same male – for a few days as well, but has spent most of her days with the good numbers of Tufted ducks, Mallards, Coots and Little grebes that live in this reservoir’s shallow waters. I was also lucky that they were relatively close to the edge of the reservoir, which enabled me to get some reasonable photos of the male and female together. I’m not sure what had attracted their attention when I took this image – I never realised their necks could extend this far!

240108 ring-necked ducks

Spreading its wings

11 Wednesday Jan 2023

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Ring-necked duck

To get this photo, I got drenched, hailed on, flashed by lightning and rumbled by thunder … but it was worth every drop of rain. Seen here with the Tufted ducks it has befriended and a local Gadwall, this female Ring-necked duck is one of two that have been in the local area for several months. They have mostly spent their days together on Lisvane Reservoir in north Cardiff but the turn of the new year has seen this particular duck spread its wings, spending a day or two in Cardiff Bay, and several days, as today, at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park.

230111 ring-necked duck

The return of the Ring-necked duck

07 Thursday Oct 2021

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Ring-necked duck

Many local birders, including our county bird recorder, seem to agree that this Ring-necked duck is the same bird that spent much of last winter in Cardiff Bay in the company of the large Tufted duck flock. She appears to have remained in the company of those ducks over the summer and now returned with them to over-winter in the Bay and on other local lakes and reservoirs. Long may she linger!

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Ring-necked duck, again

30 Saturday Jan 2021

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Aythya collaris, birding, birdwatching, female Ring-necked duck, Ring-necked duck

This gorgeous wee duck has already starred in a couple of this winter’s blog posts but yesterday, when I passed her regular spot, she was closer to the path than usual so I managed to get some slightly better photos, which I can’t resist sharing.

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The Ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris), like the Tufted ducks this one spends its time with locally, is a diving duck that summers and breeds in North America but migrates to spend the winter in the southern United States and Central America. Sometimes that migration goes awry and, according to the BTO, around 21 Ring-necked ducks find their way to Britain each year.

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Hopefully, in another month or so, our winter visitor, this lovely immature female Ring-necked duck, will catch a favourable wind to carry her back across the Atlantic to rejoin others of her kind and find herself a mate. Fingers crossed!

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Ducks in a row

16 Saturday Jan 2021

Posted by sconzani in birds, winter

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birding, birdwatching, British birds birding, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay birds, Ring-necked duck, Scaup, Tufted duck

For the past couple of months it’s been wonderful to have both a female Scaup and a Ring-necked duck over-wintering in my local area. They spend most of their time amongst flocks of Tufted ducks in Cardiff Bay, either behind the Ice Rink or in the wetlands reserve, though they also venture occasionally to Cosmeston Lakes. Much of the time they can be found together, as if they’re aware that they’re the outsiders in the flock, though they can sometimes be found in separate locations. I was lucky during Thursday’s walk to see them both in a smattering of sunshine and together – in fact, I managed to get all my ducks in a row!

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303/366 Ring-necked ducks

29 Thursday Oct 2020

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Aythya collaris, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay birding, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Ring-necked duck

I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen a Ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris) so I was delighted when, ten days ago, a juvenile female was spotted at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, and I managed to get a very distant view of it on 18 October.

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I’m the first to admit I would not have been able to identify this bird without the local, much more experienced birders sharing their photos on social media. When its head is tucked in, which seems to be most of the time, only its pale eye ring distinguishes this bird from the female Tufted ducks that surround it, at least to my inexperienced eye.

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Late last Sunday, 25 October, the exciting news came that a second Ring-necked duck had been sighted at Cosmeston, this one a 1st winter drake, so I headed along on Monday for a look. I got much closer views of the first bird, the juvenile, but couldn’t find the other – turns out, it had flown over to Cardiff Bay. This is a common phenomenon during the winter months – the various duck species fly regularly back and forth between the lakes and the Bay.

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So, for yesterday’s exercise walk I headed down to Cardiff Bay where, in spite of occasional heavy rain showers, I managed to locate both Ring-necked ducks, though this time the drake kept its head tucked in throughout my visit. That’s the juvenile braving the weather in the photo above, and the 1st winter drake below. If I manage to see the drake again and get a photo of it with its head up, I’ll be sure to share.

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Two life ticks!

27 Monday Mar 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, parks

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Aythya collaris, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Iceland gull, Larus glaucoides, Ring-necked duck

I had a different blog planned for today but then, this morning, I saw a post on Facebook that a rather special visitor had been spotted at my local country park, Cosmeston Lakes, so I headed along to check it out. And I was exceedingly lucky as there was also another unusual visitor on show. These are they.

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Ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris)
Though it’s not easy to see, this lovely little duck gets its name from its purple neck band. The Ring-necked duck looks a lot like the local Tufted duck, but without the tuft, with slightly greyer sides and a different-shaped head, and, most distinctive, those pale bands of colour on its beak. It’s native to North America but one or two birds turn up in Britain most years. I was just very lucky that this one chose my local lake for its holiday spot this year.

170327 Ring-necked duck (1)

Iceland gull (Larus glaucoides)
I’m hopeless at picking out different gulls from a large flock but the pale, almost buff plumage of this bird was quite distinctive once it was pointed out to me. Though it breeds in the Arctic, the Iceland gull spends its winters slightly further south, anywhere from the northern areas of Canada and the United States, to Britain and Ireland, as well as in Scandinavia and the northern parts of Germany. It is sometimes referred to as the white-winged gull and those white wings are one of the easiest ways to tell it apart from other gulls in flight.