It was good to see a picture on The Gurn of a Goldeneye proudly showing off his colours last weekend (http://www.gurnnurn.com/). There have been a number of male and female birds just off shore and heading down river toward the footbridge (see the picture below). Some even hunted in The Harbour.
Add to this the numerous sightings of Tufted Duck, makes the first few weeks of 2011 pretty special! A well known protector of the swans has told me that he has seen 18 Tufted Duck (an even male / femal split) on the river, which is great.
The Tufted Ducks are black and white, but very convieniently have a wee tuft on the head, which gives it away. The male pictured above was resting on the river just passed the harbour. The tuft was showing well, as was the clear black and white markings.
The females are more plainly coloured (the bird on the left in the picture below); they are browner where the male is white, but they too have the give away tuft.
Keep an eye out for these ducks on the river, they are quite distinct and worth a second look.
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