New Zealand scaup on Lake Pearson

Fairly early in the morning, these little diving ducks were occupying the sunny bay by the picnic area, but didn't come very close in to shore. The water level is very high at present, so although ducks could be heard in the water under the willows, they weren't visible. There were Australasian crested grebes on the lake too, but again, it was hard to get close to them, and too early in the year for chicks.

mpp26 blipped a closer shot of scaup with ducklings on 7 November, and also provided some background info on the species.