Today I paid another visit to the SOS Reserve at Venus Pool
The water-level was very high and there were not too many ducks to see. The afternoon sun gave excellent sheen to the head of this smart drake Shoveler
Here is its intended – a duck Shoveler. The feather pattern is more intricate than it appears at first glance.
Looking quite petite after the Shoveler is this pair of Gadwall.
A (Common) Kestrel sails by. The grey on the crown means this is a male.
Not my sharpest picture of a flying Buzzard. The low sun highlights the underwing pattern well though.
Slightly sharper: the ‘arm-pit’ pattern is also shown.
A Great Spotted Woodpecker – the red on the nape identifies it as a male.
Nothing too special – a female Chaffinch sitting up straight and basking in the afternoon sun.
Who is this peering out from behind the hedge?
I was amazed the camera would focus through all the twigs and give a clear view of this female Yellowhammer. Typical bunting head and bill shape with the yellow wash on the streaked underside confirming its identity. At Venus Pool the only confusion species is Reed Bunting which would show a stronger face pattern and a brown-buff belly. A Pine Bunting was found here is 2018. Another visit by that rare vagrant species would be unlikely. They are not always easy to separate, though the belly on that species would be whiter. Males of all three species are relatively easy to identify even when not in breeding plumage.
(Ed Wilson)
