Third Time Ducky

Got him! A beautiful male goosander on the Water of Leith, Edinburgh. Since spotting this bird a few weeks ago when I only had my not-zoom lens, I've been back a couple of times, taking a walk along the Water of Leith at lunchtime on the lookout. Today I'd given up when I got lucky (ducky!) - There he was, swimming amongst the mallards by the Glenogle Road bridge. I snapped away as he caught the current and zoomed downstream, then swam upstream diving underwater for a few feet at a time.

The mallard ducks gave the distinct impression of reluctantly tolerating this solitary "ugly duckling" - but he didn't seem to be intimidated at all. He seemed to want to join in and although he was a bit nervous, he was quite relaxed being photographed. It would be nice to catch him with something in his beak, or stretching his wings, so I'll be back to visit again.

I got some nice shots of a heron and another of the Evening News kiosks being delivered on Princes Street. Along with more goosander shots they're on Flickr.