Friday 11 October 2013

R-CP in great numbers.

My intention today was to call in on a local farmer who gives our Tree Sparrow Project wonderful support with reasonably priced Linseed, Oilseed Rape and Wheat along with storage facilities that help to make the project that much more workable. In the event he had been arm-twisted by his missus to accompany her to the horse of the year show. Not to worry I met up with his farm manager another good friend to the project and he proved both helpful and interesting although an exchange of views took place concerning the Buzzard and true to form so many farming folk have it in for this super rider of the breeze and the wind that leaves me mystified why many country folk are managing to get it so wrong, although he in all fairness did concede that numbers on the farm have fallen considerably which backed up the point I had been trying to get across to him that bird of prey numbers are dependent on available prey it is self regulatory and most certainly doesn't need the clumsy hand of man interfering.
Called in at Hardwick later and walked across to the gravel pits and watched the most Red - Crested Pochard I have ever seen in one place I guess there must have been between fifty and one hundred with the probability of close to the hundred and even though I was quite a distance from them and had left my glasses in the car I managed to take some not too good photos of them including a very white one that is possibly a cross bred individual and would guess at Pochard x Red-Crested Pochard or more likely R-CP x Farmyard or Call Duck. (see comment below)
Oxonfeather.



                                           Note the White Individual
                                There were A lot of Wigeon as well
 

1 comment:

  1. Lewbelu tells me the white Red-Crested Pochard is most probably leucistic .
    Oxonfeather.

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