A walk along the dam at Grafham... and an unexpected surprise!

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 I had a delivery to do in Grafham so took the opportunity to take a walk along the dam at Grafham Water as you never know what might turn up!

My first bird was a pied wagtail ..tick.  then I caught sight of a wader in the distance which I soon identified as a redshank running in and out of the waves as they broke on the shoreline.   I was surprised to see a large group of about 20 goldeneye swimming a short distance away from the shore but as I watched they suddenly disappeared... then  appeared again.  As I neared  the group I realised they were all in fact diving under the water together, then all surfacing at the same time. This was repeated time and  time again.  I also photographed what I assumed to be just another grebe but later discovered it was in fact the great northern diver which had been seen there recently. I hadnt known about it and certainly didnt expect to see one! An unexpected bonus! I seem to be getting in a habit of this!

So another 4 ticks plus a buzzard on the way home.

                                                        Great Northern Diver



 

Pied wagtail

Goldeneye


Redshank




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