Eyeworth Goosanders

When I rolled up at Eyeworth yesterday morning, I was wondering whether the Goosanders would be there again or whether they would have moved on. Given the sunny but cold weather forecast which wasn't too far off, I wasn't too surprised to find some very large lenses indeed focussing over the pond. I sat in the car as a mobile hide as was de rigeur and watched, by coincidence, 21 Goosanders going about there business. I say by coincidence because this was the same number as I had seen previously, but this time there were 6 adult drakes, so they weren't all the same birds as previously. As last time, they generally stayed a little bit far away for my lens, I couldn't get the best spot, and I discovered photography envy for the first time. Actually thats an exaggeration, it wasn't the first time at all.
Within a few minutes I forgot all about that as I watched all sorts of things I hadn't seen before about Goosander behaviour, the generally good light affording really good views through binoculars.
Like a true ameteur, I took probably a hundred photographs, very few of which turned out how I thought they might.
The drakes performed textbook behaviour, raising their crests every time they passed eachother to form that ridiculously neanderthal profile which entertained me no end.

Sometimes they just seemed to put their crests up for no particular reason, which indeed, I might if I could.

The fishing didn't seem particularly coordinated on the whole, and yet more was going on than I understood as when one bird dived, it was frequently followed by other birds in the vicinity despite their seeming disinterest in such activities moments before. It didn't seem particularly pre-planned, but it did seem effective as I saw more catched made than on my previous visit. Catches usually induced quite an excitement around birds close to the successful fisher and lots of running away as quickly as possible, and rather hurried swallowing. All the fish caught that I could identify were Perch, and pretty fat ones considering the time of year, at between 8-16oz (guesstimate).

 

  

 

Although there was a lot of interaction going on between individuals, only some of which I was palpably aware of, one little scene quite astonished me was this sunken female that concerned me for around a minute.

 

After what seemed an age, a drake surfaced next to her, but she continued to remain submerged next to him

 

 before eventually paddling in toe behind in a less drowning, but equally reverential pose.

 

Within a few moments they split up and that was that. The drake didn't appear to have any response or interest in the procedures and I am left to guess what it was all about.

 

I hoped that at some point individuals may come a little closer, and just on odd occasions they did following dives in my direction and quick paddling away. They were few and far between and always drakes, but magical moments to me

 

 

Quite a magical morning with these secretive and shy birds, but it wasn't all over yet.