27/02/2014 A Firecrest and a female Scaup for the 2014 Year List

Thursday 27th February 2014
Arundel then Greatham Bridge

Time to go birdwatching on my own.  I could only manage the afternoon session so I set my heart on finding my first Firecrest of the year at the west side of Arundel, just off the A27 and  also picking up the female Scaup that had been reported at Greatham Bridge.  In other words, I went "twitching".

I duly found the Firecrest in the trees at Waterwoods at Arundel.

Firecrest
Library picture

 It showed very well in the tree ahead of me enabling me to tick off the key ID items i.e. the black eye stripe and the white above the eye.  At the same place I also saw Long-tailed Tits, a Nuthatch, and a splendid Mandarin duck.





After relocating to Greatham Bridge I eventually got my reward when I spotted the female Scaup along with a male Tufted Duck in the waters just south of the bridge.

Female Scaup
Library picture

  The key ID item here was the obvious white patch where the beak meets the head.  Question  - where was the male and why was she hanging around with a lone, male,  Tufted Duck?

Also seen were Wigeon, Pochard and Gadwall.




A very productive afternoon.

Additions to 2014 UK Bird List:
Firecrest   (173)
Scaup   (174)