I recently posted a piece about how female goosanders are overcoming their reticence and are swimming nearer to people, joining the mallards being fed by people on the River Wye in Ross. A few days ago I noticed that a solitary male goosander was also overcoming its caution and doing the same. It's interesting to speculate on why a predominantly fish-eating bird should eat seeds and bread, and overcome its natural reserve and spend time much closer to people.
I've usually found it difficult to get a photograph of a male goosander - the best I'd done thus far was this example. The newly obliging drake enabled a couple of much better images.
photo © T. Boughen Camera: Nikon Z 5
