Goosanders

Today's the day ...................... for a swimming party

I was standing on the Telford Bridge that takes the road over the River Dee at Tongland, looking down into the cool dark water below (see extra).  The water in the river was low because the tide was out and I could see something upstream that I thought at first might be fish - feeding on the surface and causing the water to form ripples.  But when I zoomed in, it was actually a family of goosanders.  

The young ones were almost fully-grown and Mother Goosander was giving them a training workshop.  I stood and watched them for ages, taking it in turns to dive beneath the surface and see if they could find something to eat on the river bed.  Then they would regroup - and swim off in convoy to the next little bay, where they would do it all over again.  It was fascinating.

With regard to the view of the river in the extra, Will came across a clever bit of photo-editing today.  On the right of my picture, you can see the remains of one side of the railway bridge that used to carry the line across the Dee.  The bridge as it would have looked in the past has been added into a similar view in a then and now clip ..........................