WWT London: Emperor in Distress

Less cheerful in large.
Extras:
Fulvous tree duck: seriously splashy & twisty splash
Emperors:
Soothing splashing 1, Soothing splashing 2, Yin & yang, Sweet snoozy emperor, Pilates

Mum and I went to WWT in the early afternoon. The sun emerged several times, and although it was quite busy, we managed to have a fairly peaceful time. The centre was missing quite a few birds, but we reckon that they're probably just using these quieter times to manage their collection. We'll see.

Gawd, but this emperor goose was struggling with some sort of facial discomfort: it looked like it had been stung by something, or swallowed something badly, because it was continually scratching at its beak, and gaping, then going to the water and splashing about and drinking. It calmed down a bit by the time that we moved on, and Mum let the staff know and they immediately arranged for it to get checked. Poor emperor: they're usually unremittingly cheerful, so it was sad to see this one struggling in discomfort...
ANYWAY, our time at the Wetland Centre was otherwise uplifting, and I took several energetic series (a fulvous tree duck splashing, the emperors shaking, ...).
I was going to put up a splashy shot, but this was the most moving experience, so I couldn't just pass it over.

Today's others are here (or right from Wood duck (f) flapping)