birds

Water off a ducks back.

/ Andy Finnegan / 2 Comments

The saying is said to originate in the 1800s. It comes from the literal characteristic that ducks feathers have for resisting water. If you have ever observed a duck, you may have noticed that no matter how often the duck dives under the water, it comes back up looking quite dry and water rolls off of them.

Male Mallard.

Northern shoveler. (male)

Northern shoveler. (female)

Shellduck.

The phrase “A nice day for ducks” is a pejorative expression used to describe a rainy day that can only be seen as being positive by those living things, like ducks, that enjoy a watery environment.

Easter walk.

/ Andy Finnegan / 4 Comments

Easter Saturday walk from Gosport Life Boat Station to Gilkicker point past fort Gilkicker.

The lifeboat of the Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service is independent from RNLI. The lifeboat was being launched for an exercise as we arrived at the carpark.

Fort Gilkicker is a one of the historic Palmerston forts around Portsmouth Harbour. Gilkicker was started around 1853. Built at the eastern end of Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire England to dominate the key anchorage of Spithead.

Some birdlife from Gilkicker Point.

Greenfinch.

Dartford Warbler.

Camera collection.

/ Andy Finnegan / 2 Comments

A few pictures that I took while walking in the New Forest to collect our Badger sett trail cameras which had been out in the forest for a week.

A juvenile Fallow deer Buck. He will be a magnificent beast in a few years.

A small herd of juvenile Fallow deer hinds.

It was nice to see a Grey wagtail they are a relatively rare bird with a population of just 38,000 breeding pairs in the UK. They are, subsequently, classified as Red Status bird due to this low number.

Tufties.

/ Andy Finnegan / 1 Comment

Some more views of Tufted Ducks – these were on the old mill pond at Bishop’s Waltham near Winchester.

The drakes are black and white with a golden eye and sport a tuft. The hens are more camouflaged and brown in colour.

As kids, we called Tufted ducks Tufties.