You may expect a post from me most sunny days around now – as they are few and far between – if I get chance to indulge my hobby. Today was one of those days. My early morning trip down ANR was rewarded with the first  goosander sighting of the winter.

I can’t recall seeing goosanders on land before. They look a lot bigger on land as they  float quite low in the water. Unusually the female in this species is the more colourful.

I was particularly pleased to get a good shot of Mr and Mrs side by side. The drake may look black and white from a distance but the bottle green colouring on the head is obvious on closer observation. The hooked bill comes in handy when diving for a fish supper!

This group took flight as soon as they saw me trying to photograph them at close range. I think this shot has a touch of French Impressionism about it.

PS The following morning I saw this green woodpecker at ANR.

To see more please follow this link            https://imgur.com/gallery/3LeSH