STITHIANS RES 02/04/2011

Went up to Stithians Res this morning to see if the Ring Necked Duck was still around, the weather was good though overcast which made for very flat lighting.
Upon arrival at the hide on the main res, picked up the bird right away although distant and no good for Photo's.
After about 45mins something spooked them and they flew across the cutoff and landed to the right side of the hide.This was much better and spent the next hour getting a lot of shots as it swam up and down in front of the hide with the flock of Tufted Ducks.
Also had 4 Goldeneye, 1 Male and three Females but these only came close enough for record shots.

MALE RING NECKED DUCK

This species is a visitor from North America and is annual in the UK.

RING NECKED DUCK.

MALE TUFTED DUCK : MALE RING NECKED DUCK & FEMALE TUFTED DUCK.

This shot shows the difference between Tufted and Ring Necked the Ring Necked has distinct white at the base of the bill, Grey sides and the head is Cone shaped compared to the Male Tufted.

FEMALE GOLDENEYE.

MALE GOLDENEYE.