Colourful drake, drab duck

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In the world of birds it is quite common to find the male of the species to be relatively colourful in its plumage and the female to be more subdued. This isn't a universal rule, of course, and in species as disparate as the tree sparrow, the magpie, the kittiwake, the sand martin and the snipe, the male and female are pretty much identical. The distinction in colour is particularly noticeable in ducks. The most common duck, the mallard, has a colourful drake and a subdued female, the latter only sharing the purple speculum with the male. One of the biggest contrasts is between the male mandarin duck and the female, though in this case the female shares a couple of characteristics as well as having some unique features, such as the "spectacles".

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Approachable goosanders

All birds have what can be called a "scare distance" i.e. the distance at which they will take flight due to the approach of a person. For a robin this is typically three or four yards. For a magpie or a jay will be a much greater distance; perhaps thirty yards or more. With all species this distance tends to be reduced during the nesting season or if food is scarce and they are eating something. Recently we have seen a couple of female goosanders, birds that typically fly when you get to within twenty or so yards, joining in with mallards (a bird with a short scare distance) and feeding really close to people. So close that I could fill the frame with the bird using the 24-200mm lens that was on my camera. I haven't been able to do this with goosanders before. I wonder what has made them so "tame".

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Female goosander, River Wye

The goosander (Mergus merganser) is the second most seen duck on the river at Ross on Wye after the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos). At all times of year females are more visible than males, and in summer they breed along the river, mothers often being seen with more than a dozen ducklings. The goosander is a species that is increasingly widespread, having spread from its Scottish base to northern England and Wales and more recently into the south-west. It belongs to the sawbill family of ducks (which also includes the red-breasted merganser and the smew), and the feature that gave rise to that family name can be seen better than usual on the photograph above.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Mandarin ducks and camouflage

As is typical with the majority of ducks, the male mandarin duck is brightly coloured and the female is relatively drab. In terms of camouflage the male stands out boldly against most backgrounds, and the female tends to blend in. Bright male colouring is thought to be connected to attracting a mate and drabness in the female an aid to camouflage when nesting. I knew this theoretically but it took this photograph, particularly the female surrounded by branches, bank and water, to bring home to me the extent to which this is so.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P900