Monday 25 November 2013

Castle Espie Pop In

After my bird group saw the Harris Hawk and Goshawk the other day, they went home however Jimmy and I continued as we wanted to see if we could see the rare Spoonbill that had been reported around the Castle Espie area.  We didn't see it and unfortunately a few days later, it was found dead.  It was a beautiful sunny day, the duck were all in pristine plumage and we sat in this lovely area and had out lunch, watching all the activity that was going on.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Eider ducks were all displaying and calling one to another.
 
 
This Shoveler came over to us as I through some seed on the ground.
 
 
Ringed Teal
 
 
I suddenly noticed that the female Barrow's Goldeneye was behaving rather funny with her head very low in the water and thought she was being very submissive to the male.
 
 
 
 
Suddenly the male mounted her, unfortunately they had their backs to me and the copulation took about 3-4 seconds.
 
 
After he dismounted they both were joined to each other by their bills, swimming round and round each other.  When they parted, I managed to get the video on and you will see (at the end of this post) how proud he was!
 
 
Having looked everywhere in and around Castle Espie, we finished by walking through the area called the 'Duckery'.  You will have seen these ducks before but when they were much younger and now they have matured well and will be added to the collection in the spring.
 

There is a small road just outside Castle Espie where there is a very small lake where we always look for the Kingfisher but it didn't appear that day.  Down at the lough shore, there were many waders such as Redshank,  Lapwing, Curlew, Godwits, an Little Egret and Heron along with these Shelduck and many Brent Geese.  You will see these on the video. 

It can be accessed at
 
If there is a blackspace below,click it and the video will appear.
 


I hoped you enjoyed seeing some of the ducks at Castle Espie. Tomorrow, Jimmy and I move on to Islandhill, so look into my post to see what birds we found there.

Many thanks for visiting and leaving so many kind comments yesterday. 
I appreciate everyone of them.

33 comments:

  1. Lovely scenery! LOVE that duck with the spot of green on his wing :)

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    1. Hi Kerri That duck is a Ringd Teal. I have now added thenameto the photo. Many thanks for your comment and glad you like the scenery.

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  2. Très joli post! j 'adore, superbes photos!
    Merci de ta visite et de tes gentils commentaires sur mes pages, tous les nouveaux blogs m'inspirent pour ma peinture! tes photos sont magnifiques!
    Very very nice post!
    Thanks & Welcome for your comment and your next visit to my blogs.
    Have a nice day! Cath

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    1. HI Cath je suis heureux que vous avez apprécié mon poste et je suis heureux qu'ils vous inspirent vos peintures. Avoir un grand Lundi.

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  3. It's a very beautiful area and I enjoyed seeing the ducks.

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    1. HI Gunilla Yes it is a beautiful area. Glad you liked the ducks and thanks for comment.

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  4. you have done well Margaret, great film clip.


    peter

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    1. HI PeterGlad you liked the post and also the video. Sometime I wonder if all the work that a video takes to edit and up load is worth it, so it is good to know you enjoyed it. Thankd for comment.

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  5. You have such a wonderful variety of ducks over there. Gorgeous photos too. Thank you Margaret a lovely week.

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    1. Hi Denise. Glad you iked the ducks and thanks for comment.

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  6. An interesting duck collection there Margaret. In this area recently we have seen escaped Red-breasted Goose and Red-crested Pochard.

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    1. Hi Phil. so that is where our Red breasted Goose & Pochard went!!! Glad you liked the ducks and thanks for comment.

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  7. such a bevy of colored beauties!

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  8. The first two scenery photos are so beautiful. I enjoyed seeing the variety of ducks, too. The male did indeed seem proud of himself after the mating. :)

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  9. Hi Linda. Glad you liked the area and ducks. Yes he did this all in front of us and when we were having lunch!!!!!

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  10. what unusual feathers on the Ringed Teal. seeing all of the places your birds have to live makes me happy.

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    1. HI Lynn. This duck has lovely colors. thanks for your comment.

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  11. Hi Margaret!
    But all these birds are beautiful ...
    Your photos are great.
    Greetings.
    Lucia

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    1. hi Lucja. gald you liked the birds and thanks for comment.

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  12. Love the beautiful area and all your colorful ducks!! We had a similar experience earlier this year with a Pacific Loon. It was a rare find but several days later died. That's a very rare for your area....wow!! It must have taken a wrong course somewhere. Storms are notorious for doing that:(

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  13. HI Chris Glad you liked the ducks and thanks for not only commenting on this post but also on on the previous 2 posts. Sorry to hear the Pacific Loon died.

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  14. Wonderful and colorful pictures! But my favorite s still the first, it looks like a paradise! I hope the spoonbill died of natural causes?

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    1. HI Ginny Glad you enjoyed the colourful ducks and enjoyed the area. Thanks for comment.

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  15. A wonderful post Margaret... I am playing catchup at the moment...

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    1. HI Andrew I know how that feels but thanks for taking the time to comment adn glad you enjoyed the post.

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  16. We see common goldeneyes here and only rarely the Barrow's. How sad about the spoonbill!

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    1. HI EG Yes it was sad about the Spoonbill dying. Thanks for your comment.

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  17. hi margaret!

    what a beautiful scenery! how wonderful to be surrounded by so much beauty!

    love the ducks!!

    big hugs~

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  18. What a great place you have shared with us! It looks so serene. I hope more spoonbills show up.

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  19. Margaret, wonderful collection of ducks! What a great variety seen there, must be an awesome birding spot. Wonderful photos, have a happy week!

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  20. What a wonderful entry!! GORGEOUS images!!

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  21. Beautiful photos and a great selection of birds. Sorry to hear about the Spoonbill :(

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  22. just stopping by to wish a very happy and family filled thanksgiving!!

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