Lovely weather for ducks

Goosander Mergus merganser enjoying the sunshine. Best to embiggen them to get a better look.

The scientifc name for this bird is a bit confusing as there is a superficially similar bird called the Merganser which is Mergus serrator. The grey ones with the mohicans are the females and the green and white one in the background is the male. This particular male had four or five females following him about! See Arnside and beyond's entry for cute Goosander behaviour. Sadly I didn't see any of this today.

According to my bird book there are 2000-3000 breeding pairs in Scotland but over double that winter here. They seem to be more common in Edinburgh than they used to be and they also seem more bold. When I first spotted some a few years ago they would dive immediately they saw me looking at them! Now they just loaf about and don't seem bothered.