Hooded Merganser Kilbirnie Loch, Ayrshire

On Saturday 12th November, we made a quick dash up the M6 / M74 to Ayrshire to see the relocated drake Hooded Merganser, arriving just west of Glasgow by 08:30hrs. We both did think that this was a bit of a mad-one, but a tick is a tick, and we both needed it for our various lists. For me, it was a welcome Ayrshire tick. This fine drake was feeding with a small flock of Goosander, always keeping its distance from us.

  

Kilbirnie Loch

At 09:00hrs we headed back home (as I had to be out by 17:30hrs), calling in Carlisle on the way south to see a flock of 31 Waxwings. Amazingly, these are only my third ever Waxwings outside of Staffs, and my first since 2012 (#Octogontastic #painsinchest)