Red crested pochard

Not native to the UK, but there are occasional breeding pairs that are escapees from captivity.

This guy, with some mates, was at Pensthorpe.  I don't know if they breed there, but there were certainly a number of them on the lake nearest to the main buildings.  And he looked suitably wild with his Mohican hair style.  But we were surprised how few other ducks there were - perhaps they've been moved inside to protect them from avian influenza?

We decided that we needed to have a day out, and were lucky enough to manage a decent wander around Pensthorpe before the rains (and the Saharan sand) arrived.

We've spent the later afternoon and evening at our computers, trying to complete the paperwork for our transfer of residency, including a list of all our furniture, with values.  And in my case, also fighting my computer because it was not displaying my photos properly.  Stress levels increased by the arrival of yet more queries from our buyers about our drainage system - we really do wonder if they are building themselves up to drop out of the purchase.