Draycote birding

It was a perfect owling day, but I wasn't feeling up to dealing with hordes of people, so I decided to got to Draycote Water for a Christmas-carb-busting walk and a Great Northern Diver. Both of which I got, though only the walk (5 miles around the perimeter) was wholly successful: I eventually caught up with one of the two Divers that are currently on site in a bay on the northern edge of the reservoir, but it was elusive, by then I was shooting straight into strong, low sun, and though I saw it three times I didn't manage to get a lens on it even once. 

Best of the rest were the long-staying Ferruginous Duck, which was still showing well by the new water pipes near the sailing club, and a handful of Goldeneyes that have arrived since my last visit. But the best photo opportunity was gifted by this Great Crested Grebe, which I'm going to hazard is a first-winter bird moulting into adult plumage (corrections on a postcard to the usual address). Between the pasty face and the too-extreme haircut, there's a touch of the feral teenager about it, but I like the light, and the broken reflection on the choppy water.

It was freezing, by the way - literally, as I drove back through Dunchurch under a Tequila Sunset and a mini-murmuration of starlings - but I ended the day with a step count of 12,000 and my '25 bird list on 33 species (including the Black Swan, which I'm counting even if the BTO won't), and on balance I felt pretty good about my achievements.