Clean

I was back in Stratford this morning to have bloods taken at the hospital. Afterwards R and I met up for coffee, then he went to do some shopping while I walked down to the river. When I first saw a lone male Tufted Duck I assumed that it must be the same one as yesterday, and that he hadn't in fact left as I'd thought. But since getting my photos onto a big screen and comparing them, I can see that it's a newbie: he's further into his second moult than yesterday's bird, and the dents and marks on his bill are different. It's unusual for them to turn up singly like this, and I'm not sure what's going on, but I guess the recent storms might have disrupted their normal movement patterns.

When I first spotted him, this duck was looking pretty shabby - dusty, and covered in flecks of what looked more like ash than anything else - and also obviously tired. But his efforts to sleep were constantly disrupted by the other water birds, and eventually he roused himself and began preening. The second photo shows him doing the sideways roll that tufties use to reach their belly feathers, in the process displaying one of the large feet that make him such an effective diver. (I once stood and timed a group of Tufted Ducks as they dived for food, and some of their dives lasted for nearly thirty seconds.) I'm always charmed by this manoeuvre, but the ducks generally don't seem charmed to be watched doing it: he's definitely giving me the side-eye in that shot, and in the main image, which shows him clean and smart after his wash-and-brush-up, I can't help feeling that he's scowling at me.

Another one not inchrested in having his photo taken - it seems to be the story of my life right now!