Hooded Merganser

Went down to Whetsted Gravel Pits near Tonbridge, Kent to see a Hooded Merganser and I saw it, but do I count it?

Although I met a few birders walking out as I was walking in, when I arrived there was no-one else there, but the bird was easily located, if a tad distant. It seemed to be working its way rightward along the far bank, so I positioned myself where given the sun and the way the bird was moving I might get a decent shot. After a good half hour watching and snapping away, the above is as good as it got before it decided to work its way back left along the far bank and was therefore moving further away. At this point I packed the gear away and walked out.

Another birder had just turned up and I let him know how the bird had been behaving. Then on the walkout I met Lee GR Evans walking in. I was greeted with the question "So where's this duff duck?"

You see the problem with wildfowl is people like having collections of exotic birds and although this one doesn't look that exotic, an adult male Hooded Merganser is an absolute stunner so perhaps what we have here is an escapee from a collection that shouldn't be counted, or a vagrant from America that's crossed the Atlantic that definitely can be counted and would be a "lifer" for me.

Can't say I feel qualified to make the call on this one, if I'd seen a ring then maybe that'd have been a clue, but as the duck didn't roll on its back and wave its legs in the air, I've no idea as to whether it was ringed or not. I'll be interested to see what Lee makes of it and will post a link to his blog if he publishes anything.

Edit Lee's Blog