First up, yesterday I had my first ever sighting of the Blue Lake mandarin drake on land as I mooched around the water looking for goosander which I think have now headed off to their breeding sites. He was just wandering around feeding off the saturated grassland with a female mallard.
As you can see, he was looking very beautiful.
He is quite a skittish fellow on water, knowing when he is being photographed and shooting off from close inshore while you get your phone out and try and photograph him. On land, he was slightly calmer, but still wary but I was able to get a closer shot than normal.
A toddler then spotted this wondrous looking bird, and came charging in, at which point he took to the air with a slightly clockwork toy method of flight.
But I got my photos before he did!
Si
All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 10.03.20
He is a beauty Si - good to see him in all his glory out of the water.
ReplyDeleteNice shots, they are not very co-operative about being photographed.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I was lucky to get even slightly close
ReplyDelete