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Friday 29 November 2019

Heading North

It's been a hectic few work weeks for me, but with a gap in my diary yesterday morning I took the opportunity to take Dad to Axminster to see the lingering Whooper Swan (which is the same bird I had in Colyford in October), and then the Chard Reservoir female-type Smew. 

The Whooper Swan was the only swan in the field yesterday (north of the B3261 where the river runs under the road), whereas when I saw it here a week ago it was one of about twelve!  It was nice to see a Green Sandpiper as well, presumably displaced due to the high river levels.

I could never tire of seeing winter swans!

Same bill pattern as the Colyford bird, plus slight copper staining on the top of its head


Then it was time for the Smew at Chard Res - and wow what a bird!  It started off distant but took flight and landed in a much closer corner of the Res, where it would sometimes loosely follow groups of Mallards around.  The light was always a bit bright and we were often looking directly into it, but I couldn't believe how close it came!  It's a real corker, and am surprised it's not proving more popular with photographers...







A brilliant bird. My first Smew for many years, and another cracking bird for the Chard area (always a bit gripping considering how close we are to Chard!).

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